I'll Pretend You Didn't Think That
by PJOteens
Summary: An innocent game of truth or dare leads to horrifying results for Annabeth Chase- a new kind of empathy link is established between her and Percy... But it's not a normal one. Instead of just feeling each other's strong emotions, they can feel EVERY emotion- and, worst of all, they can hear each other's thoughts.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Percabeth story—**

**So in this one, Percy isn't linked with Grover and you may notice that personalities may be a little different.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Chiron didn't really allow loud, booming music in our cabins, or really phones in general to _play_ that music. In fact, Will Solace had to sound-proof the walls even though his band, the Solstices, only played dumpy classical stuff. Sure, the music may be boring, but the parties sure aren't.

This one wasn't so big. I mean, maybe there were around 30 people, but I think Will invited certain people instead of the big, blinking _PARTY AT THE APOLLO CABIN_ sign that got us busted last time.

I hadn't even wanted to come to the party, but of course, my best friend, Percy Jackson, had convinced me to come with his stupid seal eyes.

"Please, please, please?" he asked, and I squinted at him. Okay, rewind.

Ever since Percy and I had completed our enormous quests and restored peace or whatever to Olympus, it was like he was the hottest thing to hit planet Earth and Olympus since microwavable food. When we returned, it was like he had been whisked away— _all_ of the girls wanted him, _all_ of the gods' companies wanted him to model for them or advertise their products. And it didn't help either that I had a huge, disgusting teenage crush on him— in fact, I had had one on him since we were both 12 years old. And once we returned, I hoped that he would maybe have feelings for me— but _noooo_, he was too caught up in the fame and the girls to bother with me romantically. Plain old buddy Annabeth Chase, who was like his sister.

So when he begged me to go with him to the party, of course I was suspicious!

"Go with Drew. You flirt with her all the time!" Percy rolled his eyes at me, his tousled black hair tousled and his sparkling green eyes making me feel like Jell-O like they always were.

"Oh my gods, Annabeth, I'm _not _going with Drew. I'm going with my best friend, my sister, my everything—" I had to admit the last part had made my heart race a little faster, but I knew better than to give in at that moment.

"Your _everything_?" I teased, and Percy laughed, blushing a little.

"Shut up, Chase," he said quickly, swatting me. It felt good to be with him, even though we hung out every day. I would go so far as to say we were almost inseparable. "So will you go? Why are you even hesitating?" I could hear the smugness in his voice, and I laughed.

And that was why I was at the party.

Everyone was milling around, chatting, swaying to the classical music, when Drew Tanaka shouted in her shrill, piercing voice the words that would change my life forever:

"LET'S PLAY TRUTH OR DARE!" And just like that, everyone had run to the floor and seated themselves in a circle, girls excitedly twittering to boys, boys excitedly shouting to the band players to shut the Hades up and join them.

"Truth or dare?" Drew asked Will Solace before the instrument players had even taken a seat. His face turned bright red and he blinked dramatically before quickly responding,

"Um… Truth?" Drew deflated, chewing her lips, rolling her dark eyes back to show off her full lashes. _Gah. I hate her._

"Who do you like?" Drew squealed quickly, and I immediately groaned. That question was literally the most cliché question ever asked in a truth or dare game. Percy nudged me, snorting beside me, as Will glanced around quickly.

"Um…" Drew batted her eyelashes fiercely, leaning in towards him, though I saw her eyes flashed dangerously when he hesitated.

"You! Of course," Will stammered, and Drew beamed, squealing and clapping her hands. Demigods in the circle groaned and twittered before Drew picked Percy. I almost wanted to hiss at her; she was always trying to steal my man— I mean, Percy— from me, and she flirted with him whenever she could.

"Percy!" Her voice was shrill as she pointed a perfectly manicured finger at him. He gulped loudly beside me, spurring laughter from nearby demigods.

"Uh," said Percy intelligently, and his shoulder brushed mine when he shifted uncomfortably. I ignored my hammering heart and sat back, bracing myself to hear the worst from Drew— "Make out with me!" or "How hot am I? Scale of 10 to 10." Instead, Drew narrowed her eyes at me.

"Let's have some fun with our favorite couple," she hissed, looking directly into my eyes. I gulped, feeling my stomach flip. I knew she suspected I had a crush on Percy, but I never admitted it to anyone— except for maybe Grover… And Aphrodite… Which probably wasn't a good idea at the time.

"Couple?" Percy sounded confused.

"Joking, joking!" said Drew, brightening, though her eyes still flashed. "Hmmm… Okay. I got it." Percy raised an eyebrow, waiting, as Drew dragged out the suspense.

"Spit it out!" called a voice from the opposite side of the circle, but he or she was silenced when Drew shot them a cold look.

"I dare you— no, wait!" She grinned maliciously. "I _double-dog-dare_ you—" The whole circle of demigods, including Percy, gasped dramatically— "to kiss Annabeth. And I mean _kiss_, Jackson." A dozen girls around the circle moaned in disappointment while Percy immediately started to splutter, protesting and throwing his hands up. I, meanwhile, was slowly dropping into a mental Tartarus. Oh, gods.

"Oh, not such a couple, are we?" Drew grinned, and Percy fell silent. "So much protesting for just a kiss. Hmm." Her eyes found mine again, as if she had proven something incredible. Big whoop, Drew. So what, he won't kiss me?

"YOU CAN'T SAY NO TO A DOUBLE-DOG-DARE!" yelped Lacey, her blonde hair bobbing in panic. The girls and guys around her muttered in agreement.

"Let's keep the double-dog-dare, then," Drew announced. She grinned even wider, like she had been planning this all along. "I dare you to get an empathy link with Annabeth." The room went silent except for my ragged breathing.

"Actually, that's not a totally horrible idea," Percy said after the silence. I felt about twenty eyes on me and the jealous glares of the girls.

"Yeah, I mean, we're best friends," I told Drew. Her smug look faltered for just a second before she stood up and wiped off her white shorts.

"Fine, then!" Her voice sounded shrill, her fists clenched. "Let's go!"

"Go where?" asked someone.

"To go get their link, of course," Drew snapped. Will stood up, too, followed by an excited group of people.

"Um," I said intelligently as Drew grabbed my hand and Percy's. She smiled sweetly at him. "Doesn't one person have to open a link to the other?"

"Whatever! I don't know. Chiron will do it then, if nobody's sure," she spat in my face, though she turned back to Percy and repeated it kindly to him. He smiled at her, and I almost rolled my eyes.

When the group arrived at the Big House, it was dark and the grass was wet. A few people sprinted up to open the door for us, and Percy nodded at Kat, the girl to the right of us who was holding the door. She swooned, and I rolled my eyes again.

"Chiron!" called Drew, and a familiar voice called back,

"Kitchen!" We all walked into the kitchen, immediately greeted by the smell of chili and the sounds of a reality show. Mr. D was sitting at the counter, sipping from a Coke can, laughing and spewing soda all over his beard.

"Are you watching _Catching up with the Kar—_ never mind," said Drew, immediately stepping out in front of the group of campers. Chiron turned from the stove, his _#1 Centaur _apron stained with sauce. He set the spoon he was holding down and wiped his hands off on his apron, his tail almost knocking the chili pot off of the stove. He could already barely fit in the kitchen.

"What do you all need?" he asked, his eyes resting on all of us. They rested for a little while longer on me, and I smiled at him. Chiron took care of me when I was younger— he was like a second father to me.

"An empathy link," Drew announced, and Chiron's tail stopped swishing.

"_You_ need one?" he asked, and Drew shook her head, pulling me and Percy forward.

"No. They do," she said with a grin as I stumbled against Percy, my shoulder flush against his chest. He froze, and I pulled myself away before I could blush. He smelled good— he always did, even though his cabin smelled like a pig sty.

"You do?" Chiron was addressing us now. "I'm not surprised. After your experiences, I would expect you two to grow closer—"

"Chiron!" I spluttered, and the group's attention was averted for a few moments. I felt my face grow hot. Oops. "Go on," I muttered, embarrassed.

"I'll do it now," Chiron said, backing away from the stove. This time, he actually knocked the chili off the burner with his tail, and it clattered off to the side of the counter. He ignored it.

"Dionysus," Chiron said loudly as he walked down the center of our group. "Dionysus." Mr. D didn't turn away from the TV, and he laughed loudly at something.

"Oh, Kim, you sassy little—"

"_Dionysus."_ Mr. D snapped his head away from the TV set, obviously annoyed.

"What?" he asked, irritated, scratching his dirty beard. I gagged.

"We're going to make an empathy link between Percy Jackson and Annabeth," Chiron said.

"Who?" Mr. D asked, squinting into the crowd. His eyes found Percy. "You mean Peter Johnson and Annabelle?"

"Yes, _Percy_ and _Annabeth_," Chiron said patiently. He motioned to the people surrounding us, including Drew. "It would help if you all went outside." Drew scoffed, tossing her dark hair. She stormed outside, followed by the others. Will winked at me as he went outside.

"Just use the new shipment," Mr. D said dismissively, waving at us like we were some annoying flies.

"Shipment?" I asked.

"Thankfully, I was supplied this morning with a new invention from Olympus— it's some sort of oil that establishes an empathy link with whoever wishes to create one. The two people must be willing to establish the link, which prevents sabotage." Chiron opened a cupboard full of spices and grabbed a small crystal bottle. Smart.

Mr. D watched from his seat, though his eyes glanced back at the screen every few seconds. Chiron carefully poured two drops into his palm— but the oil didn't touch his hand. It floated a few centimeters above the skin of his palm.

"Sick!" I said and Percy grinned.

"Floating oil. Cool." He glanced up at me quickly with a crooked smile— the one I was sure made other girls wild. I sure as hell knew that now he'd know my strongest emotions— but at least it would not be anything more than that! He was such an idiot.

Chiron muttered some serious-sounding words in Greek and the two drops of oil slithered across the open air like small snakes. One rested on Percy's forearm.

"Ew, sick," Percy said, though he looked intrigued by the drop. My own oil felt warm against my skin. When Chiron finished talking, the oil melted away into my skin. Immediately, I felt warm all over. Something flashed in my vision momentarily— almost like a figure (a rather fit and feminine figure at that)— and then everything was normal again.

_I don't feel any different. _I really didn't… Though I just… What? I didn't think that. Confusion washed over me, though I didn't feel that either. What was happening?

"Um," I said, and I looked down at my wrist. Was something wrong?

"I don't know, but this is weird." I whipped my head around to see Percy's green eyes wide with confusion.

"I didn't say anything, Percy," I said slowly, my mind reeling.

"I— what?" _What is my favorite color?_

"Blue," I said out loud, so slowly that it felt like molasses was sinking down all around us. Percy's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Um," said Percy and I at the same time. I felt panic— not my panic— wash over me. Chiron looked bewildered, his furry eyebrows raised in question.

"I can hear his thoughts."

"I can hear her thoughts." Chiron's eyes widened.

"I can also feel his emotions," I added, nervous. "_All of them. _Is that what it's supposed to do?"

"Um," said Chiron. "New shipment?" He fumbled for the bottle, which he had placed on the counter, but it dropped to the ground as his tail flicked it. It shattered against the tile, the last traces of oil evaporating with a small whisper. "HADES!" He stomped his hoofs, which only resulted in more smashed crystal. There was no oil to be seen.

I felt dread creep into my stomach. Percy could read my thoughts?! _Yep._ Get out of my head! _Can't do that._ His voice in my head sounded like him— I could hear the smugness. He was _so _annoying. _I can hear you._ I know!

I turned in frustration to Chiron.

"What do we do?!" I almost yelled, and Percy yelped.

"Whoah, calm it, Wise Girl! Your emotions are blowing a hole through my brain!"

"Good!" I retorted, and I whipped my head back to Chiron. "Can't you break the empathy link?! THIS IS NOT WHAT THE LINKS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO."

"It's a new shipment! I'm not sure how to break this one…" Chiron was lost in thought, muttering calculations as he stepped over the broken crystal. "Maybe you'll have to find the cure on your own."

"On our own?" Percy asked, bewildered. _How in the world can I be stuck with Annabeth in my head, reading my thoughts and feeling my emotions when— _The words were cut off, like he had stopped talking.

"Until we find out how this happened, you'll have to deal with it," Chiron said, flustered. Mr. D laughs from his seat in front of the TV.

"Good luck with the Annual Chariot Competition." He didn't tear his eyes away from the screen. A big bowl of potato chips dropped from thin air in front of him, and he scooped a handful to pop into his mouth. I felt anger rushing through me— this time, it was mine.

"Thanks anyways, Chiron," I said, frustrated, though I knew it was not Chiron's fault. Percy dragged me away, out the door, and right into the crowd of demigods. Drew immediately started laughing.

"How's the empathy link?" she asked. I stormed right over to her and jabbed a finger into her chest.

"This is _your_ fault!" I yelled at her, and she actually looked taken aback. "You made that empathy oil all stupid! That's why—" I cut myself off as I saw the look on her face.

"What empathy oil?" she asked suspiciously. "What the Hades happened—?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, snapping back up to attention. Percy laughed in my mind. Shut up. Drew crossed her arms over her chest and glanced down. She gasped.

"You got your Athena filth all over my Gucci jacket!" she shrieked, turning on her heels to storm away. "Disgusting little brat." I ignored her. _Man, she sure is hot when she's angry. _Drew?! _No— wait— what? Crap, forgot you could hear me._ He sounded extremely embarrassed, and I quelled the small flame of jealousy inside of me. I couldn't bear to let Percy feel that. _Feel what?_ Shut up!

"We need to fix this," I huffed as the demigods filed back to their cabins for the night. I guessed our little party was over. Percy nodded.

"Like Hades we do. I can't stand you being in my head."

"I don't feel any differently," I said as I pushed a blond curl from my forehead. "I can't stand you feeling my emotions." _I wonder what else this thing can do. _

"Let's not wait around to find out," I snapped at him, and I stomped down the hill to my cabin. Ugh! How would this even work when we had the chariot competition?! _I wouldn't be able to focus with your thoughts in my brain during that either— probably 'Oh, Percy looks so hot in the chariot!' _ I felt myself blushing furiously as I spun around halfway down the hill. I tried to block my embarrassment from him.

"Screw you!" I shouted in his direction. I could see him as he stood at the top of the hill and I could see the grin that stretched across his face in the torchlight of the Big House. _Whenever you're down, Chase._ I stormed off, frustrated and embarrassed.

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	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Percy's thoughts are italicized and bolded.**

**Annabeth's are italicized and normal.**

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The next morning was the day before the Chariot Competition, and Percy and I got the arena all to ourselves for combat training on chariots.

I was reluctant to give up my knife once I got to the arena in favor of a huge mace. It really didn't help that rushing through my mind was, **_Big weapon, wow, nice, cool, shiny, glitter, pretty._**

"Did you seriously just call weapons _glittery_ and _pretty?_" I scoffed at him, weighing the mace with my hands. Percy's face instantly darkened with a flush as he pulled out the biggest sword in the pile of weapons. Its blade glinted bronze, and it didn't help that when he held it, Percy's biceps looked amazing.

"My 5-steps look amazing?" Percy muttered to me, swinging the sword. I swallowed, hard, at the muscles rippling beneath his shirt. He wasn't ripped, per say— he was strong in that 16-year-old sort of way. He was _such_ an idiot. He must have been so occupied with the sword he hadn't heard what I had thought. The hot blush in my cheeks trickled away.

"Heard what?" Percy asked, admiring the sword with excited eyes.

"Nothing!" I spluttered. I was such an _idiot._ **_Yeah, you are._** Thank you, Fish Face. **_Hey!_**

"Ready to get started?" Percy asked after he was through swinging his sword around. I took the mace in my hands and nodded, mocking his serious expression.

"Yes, sir," I said, throwing a hand up to my forehead in salute.

"Stop that," Percy said, though I saw a smile lit his face.

"Yes, sir." **_She is such a dweeb. _**"Yes, sir," I said again, my face growing red.

We took our weapons to the broken-down chariot in the center of the arena— funny story; Percy and I had broken it— and positioned ourselves. I stood for a few seconds before I nudged Percy.

"You have to get the dummies," I said impatiently, rolling my eyes.

"What? Why me?" Percy asked, irritated, but he was already standing up to get them from the storage closet. I could hear his R-rated thoughts all the way from the weapons closet.

"LANGUAGE!" I yelled after him, following by even more grumbling. He finally came back with Tiffany and Chuck, who were two dummies. Tiffany was missing an arm. Chuck looked like he spent his free time repeatedly bashing his head into ceiling fans.

"I call Tiffany," I said quickly, and my mind was flooding with yet even more profanity. "Dammit, Jackson! Language!" Percy snorted and dragged Chuck next to Tiffany. Then, we boarded the chariot and got to work.

We focused on our angles and the best ways to take out the enemies— we also imagined there was a chariot and swiped at wooden wheels. When Chuck and Tiffany were hacked to shreds, we sat back on the wooden walls of the chariot, breathing heavily.

"Success," Percy said, sweat glinting on his forehead. His hair shone in the dusty light of the arena. I grinned at him, smelling the musty air and only seeing green. "Why am I hearing 'Green, green, green, green' in my head?" Percy asked suddenly, confused. I snapped out of my daydream and grinned sheepishly.

"Thinking about grass," I lied, and Percy rolled his eyes, a smile playing across his lips.

"Wanna spar?" he asked mischievously once my blush had died away.

"Of course," I replied. "Prepare to lose." _For the hundredth time._ **_I can hear you. _**_I know!_

We took our positions across from each other, the armor pressed against my back growing hotter by the second from the unrelenting sun. I breathed out slowly, my breath a whisper, as one thought that wasn't mine flashed across my mind. **_Thrust, top right, disarm._**

Percy moved as quickly as lightning, and my mind reeled as I remembered: _I could hear his thoughts. I knew what he would do! _Percy stumbled in surprise, though I blocked his weak blow.

"Aw, crap!" he exclaimed, and I remembered that he could hear my thoughts too.

"Is this gonna work?" I asked, blocking another one of his blows.

"Whatever," he said, breathless, as he sidestepped one of my thrusts. "It'll help in combat, right?" I snorted, sweat beginning to glisten on my nose.

"Sure." I was becoming short of breath, and since we knew what the other was going to do, I was stumped. And then it hit me. Maybe I wasn't good enough for Percy; I wasn't striking like Drew, I wasn't nearly as gorgeous as any of the Aphrodite girls. (Around here in my thoughts, I heard a little outburst of surprise— he was probably wondering how I could be thinking about Aphrodite girls during a sparring match). But maybe I could distract him.

My arm shot out suddenly, and Percy was only caught slightly off guard at the sudden movement. He blocked it, and I burst into action. I caught the hilt of his sword with my blade, held it there with my arms shaking, and stared right into his eyes with all the intensity I could muster. He froze, his green eyes widening as I pushed his sword slowly towards his body, my face growing nearer to his. **_What the… What is she doing? What—_** His thoughts dissolved into some emotion I couldn't register as I pushed my sword against his arms. I flicked my wrists, and his sword flew out of his hands and landed a few feet away in a cloud of dust. He stood in front of me, breathing heavily, his hands emptied and his gaze unfocused.

"Sorry, Jackson. Maybe on the hundred-and-second time we fight." I turned, flipping my hair over one shoulder, and made my way back to the weapons closet. **_Her eyes— _**I almost stopped walking, and Percy's voice in my head was cut off. I hung my weapon up, feeling a smirk spread across my face. _My eyes,_ I mimicked Percy. I saw his figure shifting his weight as he came towards the closest to hang the weapon up.

"Your eyes are _frightening_," Percy spluttered as he passed me. I heard the clink of metal and approaching footsteps. I didn't know if that was a compliment or an insult. "Both." He fell into step beside me. "Hey, did you hear about the new demigod in camp?" I looked sideways at him.

"No?" I said. Percy shrugged.

"He's okay, I guess." **_Hate him. _**_I thought you said he was okay? _**_ Oops. _**We left the arena and walked towards the eating area for lunch. As we were rounding a tree, I caught sight of the other training arena— the one used for solely sparring and combat. Someone caught my eye— all abs and flashing blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. **_Gross, Annabeth. Keep your teenage thoughts to yourself. _**_Shut up._ But I couldn't stop myself from saying,

"Who is _that?"_ A dark emotion—not mine— flashed through me as Percy glanced over at him.

"The new guy. And your thoughts are disgusting." I snorted, though my eyes focused on the boy. Sure, he was nothing compared to Percy, but he was _cute. _"Did you just think that he was nothing compared to me?" Percy asked, looking at me sideways again. I felt my face grow bright red.

"I don't _know_ him as well as I know you," I corrected, fiddling with my hands behind my back. That was a close one. I knew Percy would be listening to my thoughts, so I immediately filled my head with thoughts of the new kid's crazy-fit body.

"Dammit! Annabeth!" Percy clawed at his eyes like my thoughts were blinding him. **_They are! Dammit! Sooo gross. _**_You're such a baby. _**_You wanna play dirty?_** We had gotten to the lunch area and I could just see Drew standing, her dark hair glinting in the sun. **_Let's play dirty. _**And then I was mentally scarred by thoughts of Drew slamming into my mind.

"OH MY GODS!" I shouted out loud, my hands instantly flying to cover my eyes as if it would help get the thoughts out of my head. Percy snorted, and the thoughts ceased. "That was _so_ gross, Percy! Ugh! I only thought about his abs—" I cut myself off immediately once I realized almost the entire camp was staring at me. And behind me. I spun around only to look straight into a wall of orange t-shirt and a glowering face belonging to Percy. My eyes trailed up to look at the person with the t-shirt and gulped loudly once I realized it was the new camper.

"Hey," he laughed. His eyes sparkled. Oh, gods. **_Oh, gods is right. I'm getting such vivid imagery over here._** I ignored Percy and the annoyance tingling in my body that didn't belong to me. The campers went back to eating their food happily, and the chatter resumed. I still found myself staring at the new kid— and to my surprise, he wasn't looking away either.

"I'm Annabeth," I said after a few moments. A new wave of annoyance rolled off Percy as the kid took my hand. His hand was warm but rough and slightly sweaty from sparring, probably. **_Why are you noticing his hand so much?_**

"Darren," the kid said, and my heart did a cartwheel. What a cute name. **_What a stupid name._**

"I, um, I… I'm going to eat lunch," I babbled like an idiot. And then I did the most intelligent thing I could think of: I smiled like a lunatic. I probably looked like a madman. **_You do. Close your mouth._** I snapped shut my lips, embarrassed that I could have been drooling over Darren and I wouldn't have even noticed.

"Cool… I should go do that, too," Darren said, and I didn't hear one note of sarcasm in his voice as he smiled and my insides melted into putty. **_Gods, Annabeth, if you melted this easily, then why the Hades—_** And his voice was stopped short again. I wondered why he did that.

"Nice meeting you," I stammered as Darren grinned. His teeth were so beautiful and white and perfect.**_ I want to smash them._**

I wandered to the table I shared with Percy in a daze. I could feel the distaste rolling off of Percy again in waves.

"I hate that guy," he muttered under his breath. "I don't like how he looked at you."

"Oh, please, Fish Face," I said, rolling my eyes. "He was probably thinking about how frightening my eyes were." Embarrassment— not mine— flooded through me as Percy's face reddened.

"Let's just eat," he muttered as we sat down at the tables. We filled our plates, made our sacrifices, and then began to dig in.

**_These ribs need to bear my children._** I almost gagged on my mashed potatoes. _Excuse me, but what?_ **_Crap, sorry, but these are just heaven. _**I tried to eat my food normally, trying to block out the mental picture of a pregnant barbecue rib. **_Oh, gross!_**

"Do you want to practice after lunch?" I asked, and Percy muttered his consent through a mouthful of ribs. "We need to prepare for tomorrow's race. Whose turn is it again?"

"Apollo," Percy said, accidentally spitting out ribs on his _p_'s. Explanation time: For the chariot competition, each cabin was supposed to make a course for the chariot drivers. Percy and I were already partners, and we would be competing. The first course would be made by the Apollo cabin.

"Good," I said, and then I switched into Wise Girl mode. **_Goody._** "Apollo. Definitely planned by Will Solace— lots of bright objects, maybe some made to blind people momentarily. Things to steer us off track in honor of Apollo's journey across the sky. Probably small, golden monsters or mechanical creatures of some sort, with thanks to the Hephaestus cabin— I saw them working on golden creatures a few days ago. Nothing a little celestial bronze won't kill. Lots of glam, little threat. Maybe deafening music. Sand pits. They'll be using their golden horses and will know the course by heart. We'll have to target them first, and then Ares second, and so on." I took a deep breath as I reached the conclusion of the course. Percy sat, awestruck, a rib half-raised. **_She is amazing. _**I felt myself blushing. He probably forgot again that I could HEAR HIM. **_Whatever. You are amazing._** My face was probably a tomato by now. **_It doesn't look bad. _**Percy shoved the rib into his mouth. I returned to my mashed potatoes, my face burning. What was up with all of the compliments?

**_Nothing! You just—_ **He was silent for a few moments. **_You're just so—_** I waited patiently, though excitement sparked inside of me. **_You're just so smart, _**Percy finished rather lamely, and a little drooping emotion weighed down on my stomach. I immediately tried to quell it so Percy wouldn't feel it. Then I shoved a giant forkful of green beans into my mouth.

**_We're going to crush them. _**Oh, I know, Seaweed Brain. I know.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Shorter chapter, but I'll be posting more soon! Please leave reviews; tell me if you like the story so far! :D**

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I woke up early and strapped on my gear. Birds twittered outside and a slight breeze blew through the front door of my cabin. All of my siblings were asleep. I swung myself over the top of my bunk, brushed aside my blueprints, and stepped lighty out the door.

The center of the ring of cabins was flooded with pale morning sunlight. It was cool out, though I could tell from the way there were no clouds that it would be hotter in the afternoon. My shoes crunched on the grass as I made my way over to Percy's cabin at the head of the circle, and my ponytail swung melodically behind me.

His cabin was so beautiful; I never really had noticed it until now. Wind chimes made from seashells and sea glass dangled around the door and I already knew how beautiful the inside was. I pushed open the bamboo wood door and glanced around.

Percy was splayed out on his bed and he was— get this— shirtless. _Shirtless. _

_Why are you doing these things to my brain, Perseus? _**_Hnnkashunansdeonf._** Percy snored loudly, and I stifled a giggle. He was such an idiot. I really didn't want to stop looking at his chest, but we had work to do. I clapped my hands loudly once. Immediately, Percy jumped in bed, murmuring profanities.

"LANGUAGE, JACKSON!" I shouted right next to him, and a small smile spread across his face, though his eyes were still closed.

"Annabeth?"

"No, your mom! Who else, Seaweed Brain?" Percy groaned but laughed, pulling his sheets up higher over his head. My stomach turned as he covered up his abdomen.

"I'd get up, but I'm too amused at the fact that you're admiring my abs," Percy murmured from under his sheets. I felt my face go bright red.

"I'm not!" I stammered, ripping the blankets away.

"See? Right there. Can't get enough," he muttered sleepily, though he flexed and my stomach dropped.

"You're— you're such an idiot," I stuttered, and I immediately filled my mind with thoughts of Darren.

"GODS, ANNABETH, WHY?!" Percy screamed, clawing at his face. "I'm up! I'm up!" He sprang to his feet, immediately awake, blinking his sleep rapidly away. He pulled on a shirt to my dismay. **_Disappointed?_** _In your dreams. _**_Well, actually, you were. _**I felt my face grow bright red again and I couldn't stop the embarrassment flooding through me. I glanced up at Percy, whose mouth was quirked in a small smile.

"Apollo, right?" Percy said. I felt relieved at the change of subject.

"Yeah," I replied. Then I pulled out our secret weapon from my pocket and handed one to Percy. He looked at them incredulously.

"Sunglasses?" he asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"You'll thank me for them," I said, and Percy shrugged.

"But why—?" I thought about my plan and Percy nodded. **_Oh, duh. Smart. _**_Percy, I'm a daughter of Athena. _**_Touché._**

We walked to breakfast together, busy chatting up a storm about the obstacles Will Solace had probably planned up for us. The arena was sheathed in a strong Mist, making it very hard to see the outside without getting a headache. They did that to hide the obstacles and what the campers were working on in the inside.

At breakfast, Chiron made his Annual Chariot Competition announcements: "Stay safe, fight fairly, have fun!" And then we dug into our food.

As we were leaving breakfast, I heard someone calling my name. I felt hatred first (Percy's), and then, to my surprise, jealousy. I spun around to see Darren running after us with one hand raised, a gorgeous smile plastered across his face.

"Hey, Annie!" he called, and I felt a goofy smile spread across my face. A huge wave of hatred rolled off of Percy. **_Look at him; he thinks he's so great, he thinks he can get my girl with his amazing abs, calling you Annie, dammit. _**_Amazing abs? Wait— your girl? _**_Boys get possessive, Annabeth, dear. _**_Percy, what— _**_I'm your friend and I don't like him. _**_Oh. _**_And I'm just quoting you. _**

"It's just Annabeth," I told Darren once he got close enough. He smiled breathlessly and brushed his hair back with his fingers.

"Oh, right, sorry. I keep forgetting." He seemed to notice Percy for the first time, who was standing, glowering, beside me. "Oh, hi! And you are—?"

"Her best friend," Percy growled, sticking his chin out and puffing his chest up. _Be nice. Also, you look like a peacock. _**_Well, this guy is just a— _**_LANGUAGE._

"Oh," said Darren. And then he looked back and forth between us. Something clicked in his eyes. "_Ohh._ Are you guys— are you two—?"

"No!" I said quickly right as Percy said, "Yes!" I felt my stomach drop and some dark feeling gripped my stomach, thanks to Percy. _We are _not_ dating. _**_I reallyyyy don't like him. Can't we pretend, just this once, no matter how gross it is? _**_We're still not dating. _**_Dammit, Annabeth. _**_I'm not lying to him._

_ "_We aren't," I reassured Darren, who looked a little relieved. The dark feeling gripped my stomach again. What was wrong with Percy? **_Nothing. I don't trust him. I don't know; I'm not getting good vibes. _**

"Oh," said Darren with a small smile. His eyes sparkled. "Well, I guess I'll see you at the race! Good luck!" With a wave, he jogged off to his cabin. I turned to Percy.

"Dude!" I almost shouted.

"A guy's gotta trust his instincts!" Percy responded, throwing his hands up. "I just don't like him!"

"And I know you don't! You've said that about a million times!" I informed him, poking my finger into his chest. It almost bounced back and I bit my lip. **_Rock hard, yeah? _**_GAH! You're so immature!_ I spun around on my heels and stalked off to my cabin, not daring to look back. My stomping left little footprints in the bent grass. Boys were so frustrating. **_Girls aren't any easier to deal with. _**_Shut up! _**_No! _**_Gods, Percy, seriously! Are you for real? The first time I talk to another boy that isn't familiar with you, you go all commando on him and scare him away!I can talk to other people, can't I? _There was a pause in Percy's thoughts for a few moments. I almost stopped walking at the absence of profanities and shouting in my head. I kept on storming away, the pause stretching, and then there was, **_I'm sorry. _** I stopped short. Was he… apologizing?

"I'm sorry." The voice came from right behind me. **_Yes. I'm apologizing. _**I felt a small rush of embarrassment flood into my mind and then it disappeared.

"It's okay," I said with a voice that didn't sound like mine. Percy took a step closer, and I felt a small urge to back away. **_Don't. _**His eyes were locked on mine, and all I could see was green and some emotion swirling behind them. **_Annabeth, I—_** _It's alright. You already apologized. I don't need you beating yourself up over me. _**_You always choose the worst wording. _**His voice in my head sounded pained. What was going on? **_Annabeth. Look at me. _**I slowly raised my gaze to his again and stared him down with my steely eyes. Something behind his eyes made me uneasy. They were dark. **_I— _**I held my breath, and a sudden, exhilarating rush of fear turned my stomach over. Percy stammered out loud.

"I— I'm just sorry," he spluttered as he stepped back. The fear vanished, leaving me feeling empty.

"Percy, it's totally okay. I know you were just trying to protect me." **_I'm such an idiot. Nice going, Jackson. _**_Uh— _**_CRAP. Always forgetting. Sorry, I was just chastising myself for making such a lame apology. I was going to offer to, um, uh, let you… Ride on Blackjack or something… Yeah. _**_Uh. Okay… You don't like anyone else riding him, though. _**_Whatever._**

"We should go get ready for the competition," I said out loud, interrupting our internal conversation. For anyone passing by, we would have looked like two teenagers making wild facial expressions at each other and staring one another down.

"Yeah." Percy stood where he was.

"You coming?" I stepped away from him towards the arena, nodding my head in its direction. "I'd save you a sword, but I think Clarisse would chop my hand off before letting others pre-pick items."

"Of course I'm coming, you dweeb. There's nowhere I wouldn't follow you, Wise Girl."

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**I'm at the-star-trekker (d0t) tumblr (d0t) com**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for all of the reviews and the encouragement you guys have given me! I love you all! Hope you enjoy!**

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Our chariot was probably the best. Percy had talked some of the fastest horses into pulling our chariot, and although Pegasi weren't allowed, Blackjack had recommended them. One was a steely gray color, and the other was a dark brown. Our chariot was made of polished wood and brassy metals, and spikes rimmed the wheels. Our armor complimented the chariot and the reins glittered in the sunlight.

We could see some of the other chariot riders next to us. People had mostly chosen partners from their cabins; Lacey and Drew were posted in a full-on pink chariot that glittered different shades when it was in direct sunlight. Pearls even decorated their armor, and Lacey looked pained and embarrassed to be in a chariot that screamed for attention like that. Raine and Mika had gone the furthest with their chariot. In honor of their mother, Isis, they had constructed a miniature fountain in front of their chariot that spewed water, creating a small rainbow. Small specks of glittery dust fell from their helmets and decorated their armor, and each had small rainbows painted under their eyes like baseball players. **_They look like what unicorns crap. _**_Gods, Percy, for the last time, unicorns do not crap rainbows. _**_Whatever you say._**

"Attention, riders!" Chiron was standing on a raised podium on the opposite side of the stadium. His voice was being magnified by Dionysus, who was sipping a Coke, bored, and holding his hand up to cup around Chirons mouth; he must have been using some sort of magic. "Ready your horses!"

As if they understood what Chiron was saying, Wisp (the gray horse) and Spud (the black horse) raised their heads in unison and whinnied, causing a few others in chariots to look over, startled.

"On my mark…" Chiron began. Flames shot from mechanical horses' nostrils a few chariots down. "Get set…" There was a cry from a shiny golden chariot a few more chariots down, and my eyes rested on hair curling out from under a golden helmet and chiseled features. Darren. **_Are you seriously thinking about boys at a time like this? _**_I wasn't—_

"Go!" Chiron roared, and we were left in a cloud of dust. Percy ransacked my brain with curses before I could correct him, and we wheeled off in a late start.

We instantly passed Raine's and Mika's chariots; the fountain was spraying straight into their faces from the force of the wind, and they were being spun in circles, blinded. The next chariot wasn't close enough to fight against yet, so I took the reins and nodded to Percy.

"Hiya!" I shouted, and the horses whinnied. They sped up, kicking up dirt and dust as we neared the other chariot, and the final bits of the Mist lifted, and the course was revealed.

I didn't have much time to look around, though I could tell that bits of the course were still hidden by tiny partitions of Mist. Percy drew his sword and looked around wildly before we drew up to the chariot. He raised it to fight as the opponent raised theirs, and Percy brought his down, hard, on the wheels. One went spinning off, and the chariot fell with a _ker-plunk_ to the dirt.

_Nice swing. _**_Thank you— but Drew and Lacey are up ahead, and they look like they're struggling. Trap, maybe? Don't thank me yet. _**I pulled my helmet down further over my eyes and cried out at the horses again. Their hooves dug into the dust, and we soon neared Drew and Lacey.

"Cut the stupid wires!" Drew was screaming, banging at the top of the chariot. Their horses were panicking, and glitter was spraying everywhere. Their chariot looked like a car stuck in the mud. The back wheels weren't budging, but the front was going insane, whipping from side to side. The horses were straining and toppling back, whinnying. Lacey was trying to cut thick, golden wires from the back wheels with her dagger, but she could barely reach them.

"I'm trying!" Lacey called back to Drew, who screamed in frustration as she was thrown to the side of the chariot. We drew up next to them, and then zoomed right on past.

"Why didn't you cripple their chariot? They'd be eliminated!" I yelled. Did he have feelings for Drew or something that kept him from getting her eliminated?

"I don't have feelings for Drew!" Percy shot back as we neared another chariot. He quickly tried to cut the wheel off, but it swerved away. He was shouting over all of the noise. "I just couldn't— duck!" A barrage of golden contraptions swooped down over our heads, and we both ducked down into the chariot. "I couldn't reach the wheels," Percy continued, quieter as we drew into a gap. A few chariots lay ahead of us, and I could clearly see Darren's golden helmet. He was the biggest threat, weaving ahead of the others. His chariot looked deadly fast, though his horses seemed like normal horses.

"Yeah, that is weird," Percy agreed, turning to challenge Katie Garner, who we had reached in our chariot. He instantly disarmed her, and she drew back in panic, causing the girl beside her to topple over. Their chariot spun away in a cloud of dust. "Is he using magic or something?"

"That's against the rules if it isn't for decorations," I informed him.

"I knew that, Wise Girl. I was just thinking out loud."

"You kind of don't need to do that for me to hear you."

"Ugh. Touché." We approached the front of the line of chariots, and we weaved in between the different horses. A few people tried to swipe at our chariot, but Percy quickly blocked their blows.

Right as we were pulling ahead of the others, a chill went down my spine. It was quick but freezing cold, like a warning. I glanced at Percy instantly, who hadn't seemed to have gotten it. If it was only me and Percy didn't feel it—

"PERCY!" I screamed, and my arm shot out to rip in half the spear that had been careening right for his head. He blinked in alarm and surprise at is before it was knocked off of my blade.

"WHAT THE HADES?!" Percy yelled once he had gotten over his shock. **_WAS THAT AIMED FOR MY FACE? _**_Yeah! I don't know how I knew— I just— _**_THAT'S AGAINST THE RULES. _**_I know it is! Percy, listen to me! _**_OH MY GODS, THAT WAS AIMED AT MY FACE. WHOEVER DID THAT SHOULD BE— _**_PERCY!_**_ WHAT? _**His eyes were wild and his face was pale. _Stop thinking for, like, one second! Did you even question how I knew that spear was coming even when I was driving the horses? I would have had to have been staring right at it to have knocked it away. _**_What… What are you implying? _**_Percy, I think this empathy link comes with a sort of warning system. Like if one of us is in danger, maybe the other is warned. That's how I knew to look and see the spear and stick my sword out. _**_Oh… Wow. Cool! _**

"Not really if you could possibly be killed in that situation," I said out loud, sheathing my dagger. Percy nodded slowly, and we sped away from the other chariots, approaching the only one that was in front of us— Darren's.

He stood up front with a girl from Aphrodite who was definitely trying to flirt with him— I think her name was Jess. To my surprise, I didn't feel any jealousy towards the situation, and I tried not to think too hard about for fear of hinting something to Percy. **_Don't need any hints. I'm going to take that sucker down. _**_Dammit, Percy. _

Darren seemed oblivious to Jess's flirting; he stared straight ahead, unmoving, and as we pulled up, he didn't even seem to notice us. However, Jess did.

"Darren!" she yelled, and Darren jumped. For a second, their chariot jerked and then it began to slow down slightly. We pulled ahead for a few moments before Darren pulled out his sword quickly, a challenging expression plastered onto his face. They were dragging behind a little, and Jess tried to flap the reigns to get their horses to go faster. They looked exhausted, and a light seemed to go out from behind their eyes. One bucked its head a little. **_They're confused… One is freaking out. _**_Why? _**_Let me ask them—_**

Before he could finish, Darren had swiped at Percy, catching him off guard. I glanced back and forth from their fight to the horses, genuinely concerned that Percy was being challenged; Darren was a skilled fighter.

Right as Percy was turning, grinning, after parrying away one of Darren's blows, Darren sprang back from where he had stumbled into Jess. He had looked like he too dazed to fight anymore, but now he looked downright murderous. A familiar chill shot up my spine, this time much stronger than the last one.

"PERCY!" I screamed as Percy spun around to see Darren's raised sword coming down quickly. It would have sliced his arm almost clean off if not for my dagger, which I ripped out and used to block Darren's blow. Percy grabbed the reins quickly, his face very white, as the horses panicked from the absence of a driver. **_Almost killed twice? I'm popular! _**_Shut up, Percy! Now really isn't the time._

Darren drew away from me as soon as I blocked his blow, his expression unreadable. He backed up a little, but I felt a little swell in my stomach.

"Fight me!" I cried so confidently that I almost fell over. Darren looked struck, his expression a little surprised.

"Annabeth, I'm not going to—"

"You almost killed my best friend!" I shouted, and now an anger was rising up in my stomach.

"I— I didn't mean to!" Darren shouted back, and some of the anger trickled away. But another anger filled me, and this time it was Percy's. I felt a defense mechanism kick in and I was in Darren's face taunting him with my dagger. "I'm not going to fight you!" he repeated, and he even dropped his sword to demonstrate.

"Darren! What the Hades do you think you're doing?!" screeched Jess right as Percy grabbed my arm and nearly threw me back towards the horses. _What are you doing? _

_ "Damn right you won't fight her!"_ Percy shouted, right next to Darren's face. He was leaning over the side of the chariot a little because Darren's chariot was trailing behind even more now.

"Jackson," growled Darren with an anger I couldn't even register. Even Percy looked confused as to why Darren looks so angry. **_What— _**Darren had his sword again in a flash. I almost knocked Percy down, who had raised his sword, when _bam!_

Something clicked loudly above us and a light too blindingly bright to be natural flickered to life. I had seen the finish line just a little ways ahead, but now all I could see was white, hot light. I could also just hear Darren and Jess's screaming.

"Sunglasses, Percy!" I hollered, pulling mine out from under my armor. Once I put them on, the world was normal again. Percy blinked next to me. Darren's chariot was nowhere to be seen.

"What—?" Percy began, but I silenced him, my eyes focused on the finish line.

"Shh. Hephaestus' own invention. We're almost there." I willed the chariot to go faster, and the horses neighed and strained. Everything was a blur of light and clashing metal, and then—

The crowd roared. I whipped my head up, confused. We still had a few meters until we were to cross the finish line. Right as we did, another cheer went up, but fainter, like they were distracted. I immediately halted the chariot and jumped out, almost falling over in the process because of dizziness.

"What—?" I began, but then I saw Clarisse standing in front of us, a golden wreath glinting on her head. Beside her was Chris Rodriguez, who was nearly hidden by Clarisse's gloating frame.

"Better luck next time, Jackson," she sneered as she passed us. _They must have pulled ahead when we were distracted with Darren. _**_DAMMIT. _**_Oh, hush. We have, like, fourteen or so other courses to win on. _**_We lost to Clarisse. _**_Yeah, whatever, so what she'll rub it into our faces until the day we both die? We can win this whole thing. Then we'll be the ones telling her to suck it. _**_Fair point._**

"Good job, guys," Chris muttered shyly as he passed us. Percy clapped him on the back and he flinched. **_At least it wasn't Drew paired up with Clarisse. That would have been a nightmare. _**At that very moment, Drew's chariot pulled up alongside another chariot that had just finished. _Speak of the devil._

Their chariot looked horrible; it was banged up and dirty, and the back two wheels had some spokes slashed out. However, it was still intact, which was fair game, and neither Drew nor Lacey bore any injuries except for a small gash above Lacey's right eyebrow.

"Hey, guys!" Lacey breathed as Drew stalked off.

"What's her problem?" I muttered. Lacey shrugged, her blond pigtails bobbing.

"She's been in a bad mood for a while. I mean, we did get stuck at the very beginning, and my arms were too short to cut the wires. I saw you guys pass us! Thanks for not choppin' us down." She grinned her familiar, white smile that made my insides turn to mush. _Aww. _**_Okay, let's maybe not tell her that the fact we didn't chop off the wheels was because I couldn't reach. _**_Agreed._

"Good luck on the next race, Lace," I said, mussing her hair affectionately. She grinned again. "And don't let Drew boss you around."

"I'll try!" Lacey chortled, and then she skipped off in the direction Drew had stormed off in.

Percy turned to me. Darren's chariot still hadn't crossed the finish line, and I wondered if it was still stuck in the light trap. **_Probably. Why do you care so much? _**I felt my face go bright red. _I… Don't. No reason, Percy. _**_Damn right there's a reason, Annabeth. Listen—_**

The crowd cut him off with a roar as Darren and Jess nearly threw their chariot across the finish line. Darren looked beat, and their horses nearly fell over trying to lie down. Jess was saying something about if there was so much light in the trap how come she didn't get a tan, and many of the other girls were agreeing with her. Some were trailing off to Darren, barraging him with questions. He was nodding, looking tired of their company, when his eyes found mine. And stayed on mine.

**_Stop looking at him. _** I was so surprised at Percy's comment that I tore my gaze away and raised an eyebrow at Percy. My stomach flip-flopped at his somber expression. The expression quickly melted away to a slightly embarrassed look as he realized I'd heard what he'd said. **_I— you j_****_ust looked like you were going to murder him? _**_Was I? _Percy ran a hand through his hair and shifted his weight from one hip to another. I placed my hand on my own.

Percy looked amazing when he was flustered; his cheeks were red from the fighting, the bridge of his nose sprinkled with little drops of sweat, and his hair was wild and handsome from the wind. His clothes were crumpled, but that just complimented the muscles in his arms more. I realized how much I was thinking about him and felt a rush of embarrassment as I remembered he could hear everything I was thinking. My eyes met his beautiful— I MEAN NORMAL— green ones, which were flashing. **_Your thoughts are entertaining. If I didn't know better, Annabeth, I'd think you'd have the hots for me. _**_Ha-ha. Thankfully, we're too good of friends for that. _There was a little pang of longing in my stomach, but I willed it to go away. Percy didn't say anything, but he smiled a little.

"We should get ready for the next race," he said quietly, sheathing his sword. I shook myself as if I were dreaming and sheathed my dagger, too.

"We're going to win it," I assured him. I even glanced at Darren, who, to my surprise, was glancing my way every few seconds. His strong jawline was slack, and he looked like he wanted to talk. His pretty blue eyes sparkled in the dusty sunlight— **_Don't. _**Percy's possessiveness stuck me again like a blow. I guess he really didn't like Darren. I nodded slowly. "We're going to win it," I assured Percy again. "I know we will."

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**I'm at the-star-trekker (d0t) tumblr (d0t) com**


	5. Chapter 5

One down. Many more to go.

I was the day after the first race, and I was sore and exhausted. It didn't help at all to remember that it was my turn to battle instead of steer during today's race.

"One more minute," I moaned into my pillow as a voice sounding very far away yelled profanities at me. **_GET UP, ANNABETH! Was it only yesterday that you were screaming at me in this very fashion? _**_Hfninaidjfskf. _**_Oh, sorry, what was that? I was too distracted staring at your butt._**

I shot upright, horrified and embarrassed and suddenly very awake. Percy was standing over my bed with a huge, goofy grin on his face.

"You little—," I began, but Percy clicked his tongue.

"Language, Chase," he said pointedly. I glanced down to make sure my butt was covered, and, sure enough, it was. **_Of course it's covered. I was just saying that to wake you up. _**_I hate you. _**_Love you! _**My stomach flip-flopped, but I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up shakily.

"Too early," I yawned, and when Percy didn't reply, I stared at him. He seemed transfixed on my lower body, which was feeling slightly airy. I looked down and almost gasped out loud with horror. _Oh. _

I was wearing my tiniest of pajama shorts— ones I had received as a joke from Drew for my birthday. I never wore them— I must had been too tired to have realized I was putting them on instead of my regular, longer flannel ones last night.

"Um," was all Percy said as his face grew fire-engine red. I shook off my momentary mortification as his face grew redder. I was enjoying this, and it was paying back for the stupid shirtless situation yesterday. I also unblocked my mind and a barrage of **_Shit shit shit shit oh shit motherfuckin shit shit oh gods shit _**slammed into my mind. I almost smiled. I walked over to my dresser, amused at his embarrassment.

"Should I wear jeans or jean shorts today, Percy?" I called back to him over my shoulder. **_MOTHERFUCKIN—_**

"Jeans," Percy said rather calmly, though the emotions in my mind revealed other things. This time I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.

"Poor thing," I cooed as I pulled out my jeans. "Couldn't handle the short shorts?" Percy looked like he was going to explode. "Go on. Get out of here," I choked out between laughs. Percy scuttled away like a spider (bad description), and I pulled on my jeans. If he was so embarrassed around his best friend, how could he be so smooth around other girls. **_Um, they don't get up with almost no pants on, Wise Girl. Plus, I am smooth! I'm like… Mr. Smooth. _**_Let me get dressed before we start calling each other cute nicknames, okay? _A flood of embarrassment invaded my mind and Percy didn't reply.

I smoothed one of my Camp Halfblood tees on and then stepped outside. I took a breath of fresh air and stretched slowly. **_How could someone so scandalous be so casual? _**I burst out laughing in mid-yawn.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," I said, and Percy shuffled over. _We can forget about the last ten minutes if you want. _**_Okay. Stop laughing. _**I stifled my giggles.

"Okay, let's get started," I said as we began to walk towards breakfast. "Demeter, right?" Percy nodded. "Traps should be obvious. Enchanted vines and plants… Poisonous ones maybe. That's probably the worst, but they can be dangerous." **_Like the ones Dionysus grabbed me with when I was rescuing Annabeth. _**I smiled internally at the fact that he still forgot I could read his subconscious thoughts. **_I can't just block my subconscious thoughts! You should know how many times I get dizzy from your analyzing crap._**

"Anyways," I said, clearing my throat as we neared breakfast, "Demeter's cabin shouldn't be much of a threat. Katie Garner will be dedicated to win because it's her cabin, so we should try to target her first."

"Alright," Percy agreed as we walked into the breakfast hall.

* * *

When Percy was nervous, he thought a lot. And I mean _a lot. _When he was scared, his brain would go blank and then into fast-forward, which gave me a rush, but when he was nervous, I felt like smacking him upside the head. My brain was filled with, **_Breakfast was good. Annabeth looks serious. The arena is far away. Do I smell good? Does this shirt make me look fat? Stupid Darren. I see someone with blonde hair. Darren. No, wait, Lacey._**

"Percy, your thoughts are making me stupider by the minute," I said, aggravated, as we stepped into the arena. As usual, the course beyond the small area used for boarding the chariots was shrouded in a thick cloud of Mist.

"Sorry," he muttered. We clambered aboard our chariot as the others trickled in. I noticed that the Aphrodite chariot was fixed, and the Isis chariot, though it had almost finished in last place yesterday, was still intact, though there was a hole where the fountain used to be.

Once everyone had hooked up their horses, the chariots were pulled to the starting line. I turned my head slightly to the right as Percy fiddled (ADHD) with the reins, his fingers twisting and pulling at the leather. To my surprise, Darren was standing stiffly in his chariot right next to ours, his intense gaze glued to the horses. Jess stood next to him, her too-big sword held up incorrectly. She was pointing the blade at Darren, which was very dangerous.

The horses didn't look tired at all, despite the fact that they had nearly been falling over one another yesterday. As I squinted closer, I noticed something unusual— perhaps these horses were shrouded by a thin veil of Mist. Tiny bolts of lightning crackled around their manes, and their pupils were dilated and almost purely black. I felt a little shudder go through me. They looked almost hypnotized. At my alarm, Percy glanced up, and a dark feeling drifted over me from him. **_I really don't trust him. _**_Gods, Percy, I know you don't. _

Chiron took his position, and I tore my eyes away from Darren's chariot. He hadn't even seemed to notice us, and his hands gripped the reigns of his chariot tightly.

"Go!" Chiron yelled after his countdown, and this time Percy and I were ready. We sped into the course, dust and mud surrounding us in clouds. The other chariot riders were a blur at first, and then the faster chariots began to separate from the slower ones. Thankfully, we were in the faster group.

Katie's chariot was just to our right. **_It's still dirty from when I got them to spin away yesterday, but there's a weak spot in the left wheel; the one facing us. Someone must have tried to hack it off. _**_Focus on your driving, Seaweed Brain! But thanks._

I leaned over quickly as Katie registered what I was doing.

"Miranda!" she yelped at the black-haired girl beside her. I recognized her instantly as the co-counselor of Demeter's cabin. The girl whipped around with her sword, which seemed a little clunky for her small frame. I targeted her weak spots, faked her out, ducked under her clumsy swing, and then hacked off their left wheel. It came off rather easily, and their chariot broke down, left behind quickly in a flurry of green-painted wooden planks and dust.

"Who's ahead of us?" I called out to Percy. **_Darren—_** Hatred flooded my head**_— Clarisse, and… Who is that?… Drew. Get Drew first; they're the closest. _**_But, Lacey! _**_She hates Drew. Maybe we can tell her that it was for her sake? _**_Whatever. Fine._

We drew up to Drew's chariot quickly. Drew was standing, looking bored, as her black hair blew in the wind from the ride. Lacey looked focused, her small frame hunched over the reigns. I could hear Percy's thoughts directed at the horses to go faster. They obeyed immediately, and we were soon almost on top of the Aphrodite chariot.

"Hey, Drew!" I called, and she whipped around, startled. Then a snarl twisted her face, which morphed into a smirk.

"If it isn't my two favorite lovebirds!" **_We're not lovebirds!_**

"We're not— never mind!" I called back to Drew. She looked downright smug with her little comment, so I brought my dagger down, hard, on the base board that held their chariot together down the center.

"You stupid girl!" Drew snorted after a look of panic flashed momentarily across her face. "That's not a wheel! How can you expect the chariot to fall apa—" The chariot split in half with a loud _CRACK_, and the horses began to pull it in different directions. Lacey was thrown aside, her ponytails bobbing, and Drew held on for dear life as her portion streaked sideways towards the stands. We passed the ruins of their chariot and I snorted with laughter as I heard Drew's shrieks of mortification echoing behind me. Screams of startled campers soon followed as the horse ran up into the stands, dragging a bedraggled Drew and shreds of their chariot with it.

"Did she really just call a daughter of Athena stupid?" Percy asked incredulously. I just laughed as we neared Clarisse's chariot.

And then we weren't anywhere near her chariot. Vines had whipped out of the ground as quickly as lighting and wrapped around Clarisse's ride. I snapped my neck around to see what had happened as our chariot sped by.

"DAMMIT! IVY!" Clarisse was yelling, raising her sword, attempting to hack away the vines. She ripped one in half with her bare hands and it fell limply to the ground. **_She won't be there for long. Let's pick up the pace. _**I glanced back once more before we rounded a bend and she was out of sight.

I saw Darren up ahead again and got a really big case of deja vu. **_Same here. Let's not get blinded this time, okay? _**As if it heard us, something rustled alongside our chariot.

"Damn it, not now, please," I muttered under my breath, raising my dagger. A series of raised tunnels began to streak alongside our chariot and I tensed. **_What is it? _**_I don't know. Are they— animals? _Right as Darren was beginning to grow closer, something popped out of the ground. We zoomed right on past, but another one popped up next to the chariot again. I whipped my head around to see… _A flower? _**_A flower?_**

"It's just a flower!" Percy laughed, and he willed the horses to go faster. I felt like laughing myself, and just as I wheezed out a chuckle, the ground erupted right next to Darren's chariot. His ride was tipped over on its side as the thing shot from the ground, all dark green leaves and stems, topped by an enormous, angry orange-and-yellow face. It was so large that it almost emerged from the gap at the top of the arena.

"Is that… A giant, killer flower?" Percy deadpanned, and my stomach dropped. Darren was clambering out of his chariot, attempting to tip it back over, but his horses were freaking out and Jess was screaming her head off.

"Shit," was all I could say as the flower's beady eyes locked onto mine. Percy didn't even correct me. It was entirely silent for half a second before a stems shot out from the flower's fleshy green body and whipped towards our chariot. Percy shrieked like a little kid and I could hear him in my mind: **_DAMMIT HORSES GO GO GO OH MY GODS UH UH IM NOT GETTING EATEN BY A HUGE ANGRY FLOWER TODAY GO GO GO_**

The horses neighed in panic and streaked towards the finish line, which was just behind the flower. I raised my dagger just in time as the twisting stem tried to smash into our chariot. I blocked its blow with a quick parry, but the force of the flower knocked my dagger out of my hands. **_SHIT._**

"Percy, give me your sword!" I cried as the stem came back from more, only momentarily stunned. Percy shook his head wildly, his eyes wide, but he nearly threw Riptide at me in pen form. I fumbled for it in midair as it slipped from my fingers, but I caught it and uncapped it.

Now, okay, I don't have sword muscles. So when a big, heavy bronze sword was in my hands seconds after it was a pen, my arms gave out a little. _How are you so used to this?! _**_Ask me again after carrying around a pen sword for five years. _**I was about to retort, but the stem-arm smashed into the ground right where our chariot was. Percy had swerved our chariot aside, and it wobbled dangerously as I swung blinding at the stem. I didn't even come close, and it was driving back at us for more as we screamed past a bewildered and terrified-looking Darren. Little flowers were already starting to spring up around them, and Jess was passed out in a field of what looked like poppies. **_Ha. Funny. _**_Not the time._

The finish line was approaching rapidly, to my relief, but the killer flower was coming in quicker. It flashed in behind me, and I spun around, a sudden strength pouring into my veins. I brought Percy's sword down, hard, onto the thinnest part of the arm, and it flopped to the ground uselessly, the end rolling away in a cloud of dirt. Greenish gut-like plant gunk sprayed our chariot with a hissing sound, and I ducked. Thankfully, none of the gunk got onto my clean t-shirt.

"Hades, yes!" Percy cried as we pulled across the finish line. Plant guts had splattered across his front. I spun around to see the big, killer flower as I jumped out of my chariot, but there was nothing there. In the middle of the finish line, however, was a token. A small, potted orange flower sat innocently there.

"Cool. Souvenir," Percy said with a grin as he picked it up. I sighed, placing my hands on my hips. Then I turned to the crowd of campers and realized they were going insane. Well, yeah, we had just single-handedly defeated a killer flower and won the race. "I LOVE YOU ALL!" Percy yelled to the crowd as he blew kisses like an idiot. I swore that I heard several girls scream.

"Congratulations!" Chiron said as he came over to us with our golden wreaths. "You're now tied for the top slot with Clarisse LaRue and Chris Rodriguez. Good luck on the next race!" He leaned in closer and muttered to us under his breath, "I'm still working on retracing that purchase. For some reason I can't find any of the receipts…" He muttered something incoherent before clopping off, lost in thought.

"Good job and whatever, Anniebelle and Peter," Dionysus said, waving his Coke in the air with one pinky raised. **_Is he for real? Does he seriously mention our names incorrectly on purpose? Fuck's sake, I've been here since I was twelve— _**"Watch the language, Jackson," Dionysus muttered pointedly before I could chastise Percy as he stalked away. I burst out laughing as Percy fumed.

"Hey," I said cheerily, reaching out to fist-bump him. "Two down. A lot more to go. Plus, we're tied for first!"

"Yeah," Percy said, a smile stretching across his face. We walked out of the arena together.

* * *

The next couple of arena courses weren't very hard. After Demeter's race, four races whisked by without any real competition. Darren won twice due to the fact we had gotten sidetracked by back-to-back traps in both the Hermes race and the Nike race, but we won the Isis one by hacking the laser prisms to shreds first. Clarisse won the Tyche race by hitting the jackpot on a cheat lane, and she got lucky enough to cut to the finish line. However, the worst race was coming up— Ares.

In the past, Ares' cabin's race was hell. Last year it was full of mechanical bulls, ghostly Civil War soldiers, and missiles filled with shaving cream and Greek fire. We had lost during that race due to a direct hit by a shaving cream missile, which crippled our chariot.

I was determined to win this race, not only to deny Clarisse of the satisfaction of winning the race, but because it would tell something to the other contestants: It was possible to win the Ares race if you weren't his child. Also, we're total badasses and we're coming for you next.

Percy met me early before the Ares race to shovel down food and even spar for a bit. When we had tired ourselves out appropriately, we leaned against his cabin wall.

His forehead glistened with sweat, and his lips were quirked in a small smile. His green eyes were thoughtful (that's a first)— **_Hey!_**— and his shirt was spotted with sweat.

Girls from the Aphrodite cabin passed us, giggling over some blueprint— **_Nice legs. Do I smell good? _**_Why are you so obsessed with your scent?— _probably making last minute quirks to their arena, which would take place tomorrow. **_They are. I asked Drew. _**_How did she even talk to you after we destroyed her chariot like that? _**You_ destroyed her chariot. I have my ways, Wise Girl. _**For some reason, that comment pissed me off a little.

"Make out with her a little, did you?" I growled under my breath. Percy looked stricken.

"What?" He saw the expression on my face. "I was _joking, _Annabeth." He was quiet, but I still wasn't convinced. "Why do you think I'm one of _those _guys?"

"I don't," I protested half-heartedly.

"Oh, yes, you do. I can read your thoughts, Wise Girl," Percy said quietly. "I can't believe— Have you not figured it out yet?" He laughed bitterly. "And you call yourself a daughter of Athena!" That stung even more for some reason, and I stood up abruptly. Thanks a lot, Percy. Percy stood up quickly as I remembered he could read my mind. "I didn't mean it that way— I just— Gah!" He threw his hands up in the air. "Let's just eat, okay? We can't lose focus. Today's the big race."

"Yeah, okay." Confusion twisted up my stomach, and I had to convince myself that sometimes Percy was too thickheaded to realize he was others' feelings. **_I don't have a way with words like you do, Wise Girl. _**His footsteps were soft next to mine, and he was looking, transfixed, at the water beyond his cabin. We headed towards breakfast, which was beginning to feel like a routine.

He looked so handsome framed against the ocean that I almost forgot my pissed off-ness. His eyes darted to mine quickly, and I felt a light blush play across my cheeks. I forgave him somewhere inside of my softer side for being… Well… Percy. **_What? I shouldn't apologize for that! _**I felt a small smile twitch at the corners of my mouth. I then apologized for being such an Annabeth. Percy snorted, tearing his eyes away from the ocean.

"'Course I forgive you," he said with a smile. "Sorry for being Percy. Yes, I'm apologizing for something I can't help being." His smile became a full-on, familiar grin, and all I could see was green again.

And in that moment I realized I really couldn't help feeling that uncontrollable thing for him— the same feeling I'd felt when I'd first laid eyes on him; the feeling that made my heart beat a little faster and my palms sweat and my attitude a little more sarcastic than usual. I did my best to block it out and I prayed to the gods that he wouldn't feel it. He didn't seem to notice at all that I was slowly falling in love with him.

* * *

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	6. Chapter 6

Horns blared dramatically as we entered the arena. The Ares cabin had really outdone itself this year. I could see the finish line from the starting point, but the rest of the course was veiled in mist. Red ribbon snaked around the posts of the finish line, and red streamers flew through the air, suspended as gifts from Ares, probably.

"Wow," Percy breathed next to me. **_Assholes._**

"They probably set everything out to be so extravagant so that when they win, people'll remember it the most," I muttered. _Except they won't win. _**_Damn right they won't._**

Just as we were boarding our chariot, Clarisse approached, sneering.

"Hey, Jackson!" she called out as her cronies snickered around her. Since the end of Kronos' War, she had become tolerable, and even at some times even nice, but now she was all confidence and cockiness.

"Clarisse," Percy said in a tired voice, turning to face her. **_Not now,_** his voice echoed in my head.

"Looks like we'll be having a little revisit to your first experience here at camp in the bathrooms once I win," Clarisse announced. A little… what? **_Don't ask. It wasn't fun._**

"Oh, yeah? The time I washed you and your little buddies out into the middle of the field? Good times, good times." Clarisse's face turned bright red and a triumphant feeling spread over my mind like spilled tea.

"You better have been kissing Fortuna again, because you'll need the luck," Clarisse growled, and my mind fizzled in its confusion as she stalked off.

"You kissed Fortuna?" I almost hissed, spinning around to face Percy. He raised his hands, his face bright red. **_Shit, she looks angry. _**_I'M NOT ANGRY._

"Um, yeah, I kissed her," he stammered, his fingers fumbling at the edges of his shirt.

"How long ago?" I said between clenched teeth. **_Why is this relevant? _**Percy's voice echoed, but he sounded nervous.

"Like, um, two weeks ago? Annabeth, why does this even matter? I kiss—"

"Anyone you want because you're the goddamn hero of Olympus?" I felt my anger rising in my chest. I swallowed around a lump in my throat. I knew color was rising in my cheeks, but I ignored it. Sometimes I couldn't stand how _full of it_ Percy was sometimes.

"I'm not full of it," Percy said, dangerously quiet, but there was no anger coloring his voice. He just looked frustrated, his hands find his hair, winding it around and around and making it messier than it already was. He instantly drew his hands away once he heard what I was thinking, however. "I—" He looked away quickly, his jaw clenched and his cheeks flushed. "Gods, Annabeth, you don't know—"

"Just stop talking," I interrupted as tears stung the corners of my eyes. Why was I being such a baby? Percy was stunned into silence, his hands frozen at his sides. "Let's just go," I said quickly, my voice cracking on the last syllable. I turned before he could see me looking as lame as I was right now. As I boarded the chariot, he filed in next to me, careful to keep his distance. His confused thoughts buzzed around my mind: **_Why is she so upset? I've kissed girls before. Fortuna wasn't even a good kisser. I feel bad. The course looks scary. Clarisse is a jerk. _**As his thoughts spiraled off into their never-ending random cycle, I gripped the reigns in my hands tightly.

You were the one that kissed _me, _Seaweed Brain. Why— I broke off my thinking as I realized that he could hear me. And then I felt color rushing up to my face as I realized his thoughts had stopped completely.

**_That was so long ago, though. _**His thought was the only one in my blank mind, echoing over and over again in on itself.

And it was true. In the buzz of celebration and mourning during the conclusion of Kronos' War and the meeting with the Gods, he had grabbed my face and kissed me rather passionately in front of everyone— my mother, to her horror, his father, to his rather loud hooting, his mother, our friends, Chiron, everybody. I could still feel the heat of his mouth against mine, his hands gripping my shoulders so tightly I thought they would go numb.

That was when I thought he loved me back— that there may have been a glimmer of hope, a shred of possibility for us.

But I was naive and stupid to think that. He was whisked away in the fame of being the hero. I wasn't; I wasn't the one who was featured for every godly product and I wasn't the one was pined for by every female god and demigod in existence.

I let my anger drain away as I unblocked my mind. I felt faint from trying to block my mind from Percy. His puzzled expression revealed that he had probably heard some bits and pieces.

"It _was_ long ago, Percy," I said bitterly, turning to the front, Chiron's muffled voice echoing somewhere in the back of my mind. I did my best to bite my lip and focus on the Misty course in front of me as poppers banged in the crowd and I flapped the reigns firmly. And we were off.

Anger still buzzed in my mind, tinging my vision red at the edges. I flapped the reigns harder, biting the inside of my cheek, careful not to let my emotions spill into Percy's mind. His own head countered mine with the buzz of his confusion.

"Traps," Percy muttered, and I forgave him for a split second.

"What?" **_She still sounds pissed. _**_I'm not angry. _**_Even your thoughts sound angry._** I bit my cheek harder to keep from smiling as some of my anger was brushed away as easily as if it were dust in the wind.

"There are traps everywhere," Percy said firmly, and I willed myself to break my angry gaze from the reigns in front of me. I glanced around quickly, my anger slowly subsiding into panic.

Chariots were collapsing all around as if they were toy carts. A chariot I didn't recognize splintered into dust as spiked knobs drilled into its boards. The occupants jumped out of the way, their heads hung low.

"This is dangerous," I said to Percy, my eyes wide.

"I don't think they mean to hurt the riders," Percy said slowly. "But I think Clarisse is expecting what the Ares cabin put into this course."

"How can you tell?" I asked, and Percy pointed ahead of us at a cloud of dust.

"Because she, Darren, and we are the only chariots left in this race." I glanced around wildly, only to be met with panicked expressions, Greek fire blazing, and chariots being reduced to splinters.

"That's not possible," I muttered. "There were twenty of us when we started!"

"And now there's only three," Percy said quietly. "The Ares cabin sure plays dirty."

"No kidding," I said, my anger now completely gone and my gaze set on the finish line. I could just see Clarisse's back and Darren's golden helmet.

"Let's go," Percy said quietly, and then the horses exploded into a new level of speed. I almost flew out of the chariot from the force, but Percy caught me, his hands strong against the small of my back. He held me in place as I regained my balance, but I could barely lift my head from my chest.

"What is this?!" I shouted over the sound of the wind. I could already see Darren's helmet growing increasingly closer. Percy shouted something incoherent back right next to my ear, so I gathered he hadn't heard me. My stomach tightened as he shifted his hands around my waist. _Where the Hades is all this speed coming from? _**_Oh, they could always run this quickly. Emergency reserves or whatever. _**_AND IT NEVER DAWNED ON YOU THAT WE COULD HAVE USED THIS SPEED TO AVOID THE GIANT FLOWER?! _Percy paled, but laughed soundlessly. **_I think they can only do this once. And I think this might be the race to get us ahead. We can win, Wise Girl! _**He sounded so eager that every last big of my anger drained away and I instead found myself wanting to kiss his cheek. Percy's face went bright red and I laughed.

We drew up next to Darren's chariot first. He was distracted, as usual. There was always a strange pattern when we fought him and attempted to cripple his chariot. He would be ahead of us in the first part of the race, we would catch up, he would be distracted, once he'd noticed us the chariot would slow down, and then we'd either steer him off course or get distracted.

This time something was different. He was distracted, but noticed us as soon as we drew up. His eyes found Percy's hands snaked around my waist, and I suddenly felt self-conscious as my insides shriveled at the venomous look he shot Percy. Percy paled quickly, but then anger slammed against my mind in waves.

A sudden yell startled the horses of our chariot, who slowed down, clearly winded from their sprint. Darren had brandished his sword and was bringing it down quickly. Percy raised his just in time, and their swords clashed, bronze meeting bronze as the crowd cheered wildly.

"You're going down, Jackson," Darren hissed fiercely, and Percy shoved his sword away.

"I'm sorry, who won the last race, Golden Boy?" Percy slammed his sword into's Darren's again. He was stronger and more experienced, but Darren was lithe and quick. He dodged a swipe. "We did," Percy finished, but he ducked quickly as Darren angrily sliced through the air where Percy's head was moments before.

**_He's trying to behead me, isn't he? _**_It's quite possible. _**_That little— _**_Percy, for the last goddamn time, LANGUAGE._

Percy laughed into his and Darren's interlocked swords, startling Darren. He must have thought Percy was insane for randomly laughing during their duel. His handsome face twisted, his flashing white teeth bared. I was glancing back and forth from the course to their fight, my fingers winding in the reigns. Our chariot bucked slightly over the rough terrain.

From ahead came a holler of alarm, and both Percy and Darren broke away from their fight to see what the ruckus was about.

Clarisse had been thrown from her chariot by a Greek fire trap. Greenish flames were inching towards her chariot as we grew nearer. For a split second, I thought Clarisse's chariot would be eliminated, but she yelled something at Chris, who jumped down immediately from the still-standing chariot. He untied the horses from the chariot, led them away quickly, and stood aside, slightly out of the way as Clarisse spat into her hands and rubbed them together. I felt shock clawing at my stomach as she reached her meaty arms around the base of the chariot just as the first licks of flame began to touch the wheels of the chariot.

She hoisted the chariot up and out of the line of Greek fire, setting it down with a crash a few meters away from the trap. Chris quickly went to work attaching the horses back onto the chariot just as Darren's and our chariot zoomed on past. I glanced behind us at a furious Clarisse who was shouting profanities at us from under her helmet.

_Keep going. They'll be back on track soon. _**_Got it. _**I flapped the reigns, hard, as the finish line popped into view. Percy broke away from the fight with Darren to egg the horses on as they strained and strained.

Our chariot pulled ahead of Darren's slightly as we neared the finish line. Darren had found my eyes quickly, his blue eyes flashing, and then he had turned to his horses. The fight was forgotten as both chariots became immensely focused on winning. This fight would take the winner one step closer to being champions of the entire competition.

We were a few meters away from the finish line when a chill went down my spine so quickly that I didn't think it had happened at first. Then I remembered what it meant despite the fact it hadn't occurred during the last couple of races. I turned to warn Percy, only to realize he had turned to me, warning also in his eyes.

A breath escaped me as his lips moved in slow motion.

"Trap."

I swerved our chariot out of the way just in time as the ground exploded beneath our feet. Darren hollered and Jess shrieked as their chariot was tossed aside like a toy from the force of the eruption. It landed, still intact, meters away from the finish line. I urged the horses to go faster as Greek fire shot up from a deep pit in the ground, the trap heating up the air around it. **_THAT WAS WAY TOO CLOSE. _**_You're telling me. _The hot air died away as time slowed down and we crossed the finish line.

We were met by immense, deafening cheering and pats on the back from eliminated contestants. Everything was a blur from the shock of almost getting crippled by the last trap, but I smiled like an idiot.

There were only three teams left, and we were one step closer to winning.

Percy blew kisses like an idiot to the crowd like he had been doing for the last couple of races, except this time a few girls actually _flocked _to him, congratulating him flirtatiously. As I passed a pair of girls who were eyeing Percy, I caught,

"Do my boobs look okay?"

"Oh, my Gods, Tiffany, shut up! You're so self-centered." And then giggles. I felt my face reddening as I bit the inside of my cheek again and stalked outside.

It was quiet because everyone was in the arena. **_Where did you go? _**comes Percy's thoughts in my mind, but I shut him out quickly. I felt embarrassed and like I'd heard too much, yet enough. I clenched and unclenched my fists at my sides, the old anger from earlier reopening a wound in my chest that had been festering since Percy had left me in the dust after the war.

The crowd roared twice more from inside, but I focused my gaze on a dandelion in the grass. I reached down to pick it, and then leaned back up against the arena with it clutched in one of my sweaty hands.

Stupid Percy. Stupid love. Stupid, stupid love. I ripped a part of the stem off and ground it under my foot until it was a smudge in the grass. I was such an idiot for falling for the hero of Olympus. Why did I ever think he would love me? He had prettier girls and better options than me— I was plain and thin and not special at all. I was ignored as the friend of the savior of the Gods. I was just Annabeth. Best-friend-Annabeth.

I ripped my hand away from the dandelion and brushed my fingers through my hair angrily. Tears stung my eyes and I blinked them away, frustrated. Percy was _not_ going to make me cry.

I pursed my shaking lips and blew at the dandelion seeds, shakily and weakly at first. I leaned back against the stone of the arena walls and blew at the seeds like they were my worries and my insecurities— some came flying back and stuck to my clothing, but I continued until the fluffy flower was bare.

I dropped my hand to my side and let the bare stem fall to the ground as I looked up at the sky. I took a deep breath as my anger subsided and my tears drained away.

"Annabeth?" I nearly jumped out of my pants. I whipped my head back down and found beautiful blue eyes staring at me. Not Percy's warm, sea green ones. Darren. "Are you alright?" My stomach tightened as I pressed my open palms against the cold stone of the arena wall.

"I'm fine," I said firmly. Darren nodded.

"You look a little shaken," he admitted, and I offered a weak smile. He took a step closer.

"Just that last trap." Darren nodded and smiled in understanding.

"Damn that one," he said, glancing somewhere to his right. "I got second anyways, but it sure gave me a start."

"Clarisse?" I asked, suddenly concerned for the big lug. Darren smiled.

"She's still in it." I relaxed my hands.

Darren was so close. He smelled like sunshine and clean cotton and sweat, unlike Percy's clean smell of ocean. My stomach turned and I swallowed quickly as Darren's face momentarily switched to a more familiar one, and his blue eyes flashed green. I bit my lip in momentary alarm as Percy flashed across my mind. But this was just Darren.

"If anyone should win this, it's you, Annabeth." His voice was low, and he was close; maybe too close. I couldn't register anything with his face so close to mine. He really was extraordinarily handsome, and it distracted me; I'd never had anyone so beautiful so close to me besides maybe Percy, but he didn't count anymore.

"Me?" I asked, and it came out a whisper. Darren's hand reach up to touch a stray blond curl that had escaped my ponytail. Pride and something else swelled up inside of me. A warning sign blinked somewhere inside of me at the stirring of my hamartia— my fatal flaw.

"Of course." Darren's nose was inches from mine as he stepped closer. My back was pressed to the wall of the arena. His eyes searched mine, and I felt very vulnerable all of a sudden. I felt my face turning red as his eyes suddenly darkened and his hand drew away from my face. "You're so beautiful," he breathed.

My stomach dropped so quickly that I grew dizzy. My lips parted in surprise as Darren smiled a little, his eyes clouded over as my hands buzzed. _This is wrong,_ my mind warned me. _He isn't—_

And then his lips smashed into mine with so much force that I almost knocked my head against the stone of the arena. My eyes were so wide, I thought they were going to pop out of my head. I stayed frozen as Darren's mouth moved over mine, and I could see every perfect freckle on the bridge of his nose, his eyes clenched shut, his hands tight on my waist.

When he noticed I wasn't kissing him back, he drew away, his fingers tightening. His forehead touched mine, and his eyes were dark.

"Kiss me," he said hoarsely, and I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I felt my face turning bright red again. No one had kissed me like that except for Percy. No one had done that except for Percy. No one like Darren had ever noticed me. But this was the guy who almost killed my best friend- twice. I was raising my hands to push him away, disgusted, when something clouded my mind.

All warnings evaporated as the side of me— the one that had always pined for Percy— was awoken and my mind blurred and I pushed my lips to his again. My mind was clouded as Darren made a sound against my mouth, and then he had me pressed against the wall, his hands pushing against my hips.

His lips moved furiously and hungrily against mine, though I kept almost completely still. My mind began to scream at me again, though something kept pushing the warnings down. My head was like Jell-o as he pulled me flush against him, his fingers traveling up my back and knotting themselves into my hair.

Our mouths danced as some foreign urge made my anger push into the kiss, my feet tangling in his, when a barrier in my mind was flooded over.

_Percy. _Profanities flooded my brain as I froze against Darren, and my mind cleared almost immediately. Someone cleared their throat behind us. Darren froze as well, and in a split second, we sprang apart, him breathing heavily, me realizing what I'd just done with horror growing in the pit of my stomach.

Percy was standing openmouthed in front of the arena, alone, a golden wreath glinting against his dark hair. A lipstick mark was a strong red color against his cheek, which broke open a newfound reserve of anger and jealously. He was holding another wreath in his hand, but it clattered to the stone as if it were traveling in slow motion. My stomach folded in on itself and I thought I would lose my lunch. I wanted to back away from the scene I'd just created. But then Percy surged forward, and his fist collided with Darren's jaw.

With a thud, Darren landed on the grass, knocked out. I yelled in surprise and scuttled over to see if he was alright, but a hand clamped down on my arm. I whirled around, met by furious green eyes. What had I done?

"You kissed him," Percy said dangerously. I bit my lip, attempting to rip my arm out of his grip. "YOU KISSED HIM?!" Percy's voice rose to a shout, and I felt my brow furrowing in a sudden fit of anger and confusion. Darren kissed _me- _I was going to pull away, but my head- Wait- How _dare_ he be angry, after all he'd done—

"After what _I'd_ done?" Percy's expression grew even angrier. "What the Hades are you talking about, Annabeth?! That little _shit_ tried to _kill_ me! We won that race— together— and I come out to—" He broke off, glancing away angrily. "I didn't know where you— You were sucking his _face—"_

"I was _not!"_ I almost hollered, anger pulsing at the base of my brain. My mind was blasted by so many thoughts that I couldn't register them all. "Let go of me!"

"_No_!" Percy shouted with so much force that it startled both of us. I clenched my jaw tightly, breathing quickly.

"I didn't kiss _him, _Percy, but maybe he kissed him because he noticed me— maybe because he _liked _me!" My voice broke, and Percy's furious eyes found mine again.

"I don't understand, Annabeth." Percy's eyes were still flashing. "You were kissing him back."

"I was going to push him away-" I began, and I raised a hand to my head, trying to clear its fuzziness. "I don't know-"

"You don't know how you ended up full-on making out with the guy who tried to kill me?" Percy looked so confused and angry at the same time. My stomach flip-flopped. "I don't understand _you_, Annabeth. You're supposed to be my best friend." His words hit me like a slap in the face as his hand left my arm. It buzzed where he had touched me. "I—" His eyes met mine again as his voice cracked, anger still strong behind his words. "I just—" He clenched his jaw in frustration and groaned at the sky before he looked at me one last time. He ripped his gaze away and turned to stalk back to his cabin.

He hollered something I couldn't quite hear as he kicked a can next to his cabin before he went inside and slammed the door. I stood, shocked, the anger slowly draining out of me and my mind buzzing with confusion. My eyes found Darren's crumpled body, his handsome face already beginning to bruise, and then Percy's cabin, the kicked can, the buzzing in my arm.

And then I crumpled to my knees as the stronghold inside of me collapsed.

* * *

**Uh-oh.**

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	7. Chapter 7

Percy's slamming door echoed in my mind as I curled my fingers into the damp earth, tearing up wads of grass. My feet skidded on the stones of the walkway as I pulled them up to my chest. One dirty fingernail tickled a blade of grass as I felt the overwhelming urge to cry rush over me like water from a broken dam.

As one tear trickled down the side of my nose and dropped into the grass in front of my right eye, my mind cleared a little from its strange fogginess. I almost sat bolt upright, rubbing my eyes.

Why had I kissed Darren? Now that I'd looked back on it, the whole thing was a blur— first anger, then confusion, and then a sudden, sweeping feeling of want. I hadn't even known where that came from. And then, next thing I knew, his lips were plastered to my face, and Percy was standing in front of us looking like he wanted to karate-chop a cement block.

Self-hatred bubbled inside of me as I realized what exactly I had done and how it would have made Percy feel; no wonder he stormed off. I was _kissing_ the boy who tried to kill him. What was my excuse again?

It took me a second to remember and push away all of the fog left in my mind. _Because he had liked me. And Percy didn't. _I felt a little pang in the bottom of my stomach as I realized that part _was_ true— Percy didn't share my feelings, but _still_. That didn't give me the right to go make out with the enemy.

I pulled myself up from the grass, the old Annabeth slowly rebuilding herself over the confused and dazed one. I set my jaw and looked in the direction of Percy's cabin.

The can glinted in the sun a few meters away from his cabin. Even from here, the seashell knocker on his door (a gift from his dad, to his embarrassment) looked askew, and my hands itched to right it. Then my mind drifted to Percy's face and his expression, and I didn't blame him for the way he had acted— I felt guilty.

He was my best friend and I loved him.

That little thought was followed by a moment of pure panic as I jumped to my feet, hoping he couldn't hear me, but to my relief, yet to my disappointment, it seemed like Percy had blocked his mind from me. I swallowed down another rush of guilt and glanced towards his cabin again.

Then my eyes wandered to Darren, who was lying, knocked-out and looking strangely at peace. His godly parent, Apollo, however, wouldn't have approved of the way his son looked at the moment. I narrowed my eyes at his figure, momentarily confused.

His skin had faded a little from its golden-boy glory and looked a little pale against the grass. His eyelids were almost translucent, and even his hair was looking different— it was darker than its usual blond. I blinked, and he was back to his normal coloring.

What?

I shook my head, confused. Maybe I was seeing things because of that weird fog that was in my mind.

I drew myself up again over Darren's limp body and looked back at Percy's cabin. And then back at Darren. I felt bad for him, sure, but what did he expect when he dared to, like, full-on make out with me?

And what did I expect when I kissed him back? I wanted to slap myself. Why the hell did I kiss him?

I made my decision to walk, urging my legs to take me across the field. I bit the inside of my lip nervously, and my stomach jumped. What if Percy didn't want me to see him? He probably didn't. But he wasn't going to stop me from trying to apologize.

I walked across the field so quickly that I almost hit my head on one of the wind chimes without even noticing. I drew back in alarm and then warily leaned in towards the door.

It loomed almost menacingly before me, and the nerves in my stomach jumped again. Percy wasn't the greatest guy to be around when he was in a bad moon— usually he was a downright asshole. But I had never seen him this angry. I shuddered at the thought of something worse than his usual dick-head moods.

And then I was knocking, my pride and confidence swelling up inside of me suddenly, as his green eyes flashed through my mind, his dark hair glittered, and the feeling of his strong arms around me overpowered any other decision. The doubt in my mind fizzled into nothing as I dropped my hand back down to my side, my moment of fearfulness still holding out.

The door opened a just a crack and a flash of green glittered behind it.

"Percy—" I began.

"Fuck off."

"Percy, listen—" I started again patiently, and the door shivered.

"Fuck _off!"_

"Shut up and listen—" I said, leaning into the crack.

The door swung open so quickly that I stumbled, my face slamming into the fabric of a t-shirt and Percy's shoulder. I whipped my head back and scrambled back for the doorway. I heard Percy's sharp intake of breath and raised my eyes to his. The normal sea of green was distorted and dark as a million emotions swirled behind them, and I felt my insides shrivel slightly. But defiant Annabeth punched wimpy Annabeth in the gut, and I felt my back straighten and my shoulders push back.

"Listen to me."

"What part of _get the fuck out_ don't you understand?" Percy hissed, his glare murderous. I swallowed, hard, and stepped closer to him. My fingers trailed to the doorknob and took ahold of it, as if I needed support.

"Listen," I said quietly, looking right into his eyes. "_Please." _Percy's eyes cleared just slightly before they clouded over again.

"Fuck— Annabeth, why should I listen? There's no explanation!" He was backing away now, towards his bed and desk. I pulled away from the door to follow him. He shook his head as he spoke. "You guys were practically ripping each other's clothes off." He cut himself off here sharply and swallowed. I heard my heart pounding in my ears as the urge to cry welled up inside of me again. _Listen. _Percy's mind unblocked as he bit his lip, hard, and a wave of thoughts slammed into my mind. I couldn't register any of them.

"You know what?" he said quietly. I felt the breath leave me as he reached up a hand to grab at his hair in frustration. _Listen, Percy. Please._ He paused before breathing in sharply through his nose and continuing. My heart pounded in my ears even louder than before. "Go be with Darren. I don't even give a _fuck." _A wave of hopelessness washed over my mind as my hands itched to touch him, my mind urged to tell him—

"Percy, will you please just shut up for one se—" I tried, but Percy stiffened up like he'd been shot.

"_Annabeth_!" he almost yelled at me, and I stopped short, stunned. "Stop trying to explain something you can't!" I curled my toes under in shoes and bit my lip, anger rushing into my head. _I love you, you sicko, not Darren! _I wanted to scream at him, but I blocked the thought from my mind. A helpless feeling, as if I were drowing, ate away at my stomach as I stood, looking at Percy, who looked so hurt that I closed my eyes and tried to show him instead of getting him to listen to me talk.

I let every thought and every doubt about Darren rush into my head as I clenched my eyes shut and my fists hard. I thought about the way he had approached me and the way I had felt when he had drawn nearer— anger, because Percy hated him. Then confusion. I thought about how I could barely remember it all. I thought about how I had felt when Percy had slammed the door, when I had collapsed. I thought about my mind clearing, how I had felt when I'd stood, defiant, and how I felt when I was at his door. And how I felt now.

Through the whole process, I opened my eyes just the tiniest bit more, seeing that Percy's jaw grew more and more slack the more I thought about. His eyes cleared again, and when I was finished, a tear I hadn't even noticed dropped off my chin. My insides were a wobbly mess, and my knees were ready to buckle.

Percy's eyes fluttered down to my face as I wiped away the tear quickly, almost punching my face in the process. I bit down on my lip, hard.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. Percy didn't say anything. "I didn't— I promise, I swear to the Gods, that when I say I don't know what came over me, I mean it. I mean it." My voice dropped down to a whisper. "I—" _I love you. _I stifled the thought before Percy could hear it. "You're my best friend," I finished lamely, and I stared at the ground, my stomach clenching and unclenching. I looked up at Percy, but I was only met by familiar orange fabric.

His arms folded around me as my heart hammered and my mind soared. My own arms instantly drew up to his waist and hugged him tightly to me, my eyes squeezing shut into his familiar scent and the comfort of his embrace. **_I forgive you. _**I felt like crying all over again. **_Don't. I feel so awkward when girls cry. _**I laughed a stuffy laugh into his chest, and I could hear the beat of his heart against my ear. **_Of course I forgive you, Wise Girl. You're my best friend, too. _**_I'm so sorry. _**_I know. I'm still kind of mad at you. _**I whipped my head up to his face, my best frown darkening my features, and panic flashed behind Percy's eyes for a second. It felt good to know he was my Percy again. My frown melted into a smile.

**_Hey! You can't scare me with your glare when I'm supposed to be mad at you! _**I laughed again at his joking tone, weak with relief that he didn't hate me.

"I couldn't hate you," he murmured into my hair, and I sighed into his chest. "I tried, I promise. But, I mean, there was this little part of me that wanted to believe it was all a lie, that it hadn't been your fault. I felt like an idiot." Love and giddiness surged up inside of me, and I tried my best to suppress the feelings. "I was just so angry. But then I was right— it didn't seem like it was your fault. You can barely remember it."

I pulled away from him, suddenly embarrassed.

"I don't deserve you as a friend," I muttered, my cheeks growing hot. My hands twisted in front of me. "You just forgave me. Like that. Even after all I did. I kissed him, Percy, and I don't even know why."

"I know," Percy said, his eyes trained on the floor. I bit my lip, hard.

"I don't even remember half of it." I paused. "Can I say something maybe crazy?"

Percy snorted, the familiar glint slowly bringing his eyes back to life.

"We're the kids of Greek gods and—"

"I _know!"_ I said, almost rolling my eyes as Percy smiled a little but remained silent. I swallowed before continuing. "I promise you that I didn't want to kiss him at first. I even felt resentment because of your guys' rivalry or whatever. But then it was like someone else was feeling something for me, and then he kissed me, and a whole lot of it was a blur. And then you were standing there, and I wanted to _die."_ I shook my head slowly. "And afterwards, I saw something weird… Probably just my mind, but…" I paused, a million calculations crowding my mind as I analyzed the situation. "Maybe this empathy link is messing us up."

Percy's eyes narrowed.

"You know, maybe it could be," he said slowly.

"Just a guess," I said, a finger trailing up to my lips as I thought. My mind buzzed.

"You're making me dizzy," Percy said with a smile as I snapped out of my reverie.

"Hmm? Sorry. Just thinking."

"I know." Right.

"But that is really weird," Percy muttered. "You're saying you didn't want to kiss Darren?"

"I didn't know what he was doing! I was just so confused, and my mind is so fuzzy right now," I said quietly as frustration bubbled over inside of me. I looked up at Percy with a pained expression. "This situation is going to be the death of me."

"Hey," said Percy with a small smile. "I think we're both tired and a little fed up right now." He held both of my arms with his hands, and it was like electricity crackled where he touched me. I felt a shiver run up my spine. "Get some rest. We have the Aphrodite race tomorrow."

I sighed. "Second to last one." Percy nodded with a small smile as he released my arms. I turned to leave, but before I opened the door I turned back to him. He was still standing, watching me. **_She still looks pretty when she cries. _**I felt my cheeks burn as Percy chuckled nervously, his ears reddening. **_Whoops. Forgot. Again. _**

"Bye, Seaweed Brain," I said with a smile as I stepped out. "And thank you."

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**So Annabeth is confused? And she doesn't know what happened? Angry Percy? What the heckie Padalecki is going on? **

**Please review and tell me what you think!**

**The story is nearly finished :D**

**Just a note- I will be leaving for camp for two weeks starting this Friday, so I won't be able to upload anything until August 8th. I apologize for it in advance, but I promise to post plenty when I get back. I love you all!**

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	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, everyone! I'm back and here with a new chapter! My birthday wishes also go out to one of my followers who I've noticed has an appreciation for my stories. Thank you for sticking around and bearing with me. Have an amazing birthday!**

**Enjoy!**

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Ironic that the Aphrodite race took place when me and Percy were partners. Well, okay, we would have been partners no matter what, so maybe it wasn't so ironic.

I got up slowly, dread eating away at the pit of my stomach as I tied my mess of curly blond hair into a ponytail. I felt awful due to my encounter with Percy yesterday, but I knew he forgave me, so that motivated me to drag myself to his door and raise my hand to knock. Before I could even touch the wood, it swung open. I jumped back with a start, surprised.

"Morning, Wise Girl." It was Percy, his voice slightly muffled by a toothbrush sticking out of one side of his mouth. His hair was ruffled in a way that made my breath hitch and his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt was crumpled from his sleep. I bit the inside of my lip and stepped back from the doorway as he leaned against its frame, taking the toothbrush from his mouth. His green eyes glittered with light despite the sleep lining the rest of him.

"Perky this morning, aren't you?" I asked, crossing my arms and shifting my weight to one hip, though my heart pounded in my ears. Percy pushed himself off from the wall and grinned crookedly.

"Second to last race, and we're close to winning." So he wasn't pissed off from yesterday?

For a split second, Percy's expression darkened. Then his green eyes lightened as he shook his head with a small smile.

"I don't think it was your fault… Maybe just our empathy link." He sounded unsure, but his smile made my insides flip. "You seem nervous." I bit my lip, hard, as I remembered that I should play down my excitement.

"Nervous energy," I corrected him. "I have no idea what the Aphrodite cabin will have in store."

"Really?" Percy asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Naw," I replied with a sly grin. "I have a pretty good idea." When Percy's puzzlement clouded my mind, I grinned. "Love potions. Pink stuff. Glitter. Decorations. Probably a lot of bark and no bite."

"Love potions?" Percy asked like it was the only thing he heard me say. **_Basically. Love potions?_**

"Probably," I replied. "You know how those dang Aphrodite girls love those. I don't even know how they get their hands on them. Must have cost them at least—"

"Annabeth," Percy said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. I shook myself out of my daze before I was lost in complete Wise-Girl-mode.

"Sorry," I muttered. I pushed a blond curl out of my face and raised my fingers to count. "Right. Drew. Lacey. Drew will want revenge; she probably changed around the plans to quite possibly destroy us. Not sure yet." My brain buzzed with calculations and possible attacks, my eyes darting subconsciously from the frame to the floor to the green of Percy's eyes, my thoughts jumping around even faster than that, my hands and ears jumping and ringing with each possible situation and how to avoid them and how to attack our opponents in an arena when—

A hand landed on mine lightly and electricity buzzed up my arm. I raised my eyes slowly to meet Percy's.

"You're making me dizzy," he said with a breathless smile, and I nodded slowly as he drew his hand away. The spot where he had touched me was still warm. I bit the inside of my lip, tasting a little blood as it grew raw from all of my gnawing.

"Sorry," I said with a shaky smile. I took a good step away from him and pulled myself back together slowly, piece by piece. His green eyes burned at the back of my mind. "Let's kick some Aphrodite butt is all I have to say." And Darren's. **_And Darren's._**

…

Chiron's count off was sharp in my ears this time, and every nerve in my body was buzzing with energy. Percy's own nervous energy didn't help my anxiousness, and his anger when Darren glanced our way clouded my mind just slightly. I elbowed him.

"Quit it with your strong emotions, Seaweed Brain," I hissed at him, my hands gripping my trusted dagger. My fingers slipped on the sweaty hilt and I gritted my teeth.

The horn blasted as our chariot broke away, Percy's encouragements to the horses loud and fierce in my mind. The mist wasn't very strong, and already I could see hints of pink and pastel through the haziness.

We pulled rather quietly right along the pathway due to the lack of opponents and, and soon we were neck and neck with Darren's chariot. I could already see that his eyes were glued to the chariot's horses, his back hunched as he gripped the reigns tightly. Jess looked awkward brandishing her too-large sword with shaking arms, her ponytail bouncing in time with their chariot.

"Darren!" she shrieked as I brandished my dagger. I felt like rolling my eyes. As if he could fight and still drive at the same time. Jess whipped around to me again and I taunted her, tempting her to come forward, but she wouldn't budge.

"Should I just cut the wheels?" I shouted to Percy, who glanced quickly at me for a moment and nodded curtly.

"Make it quick! We can win if we get them! Then we'll only have to deal with Clarisse!" he hollered back. I glanced over at Jess, who had definitely heard us. A stubborn look of determination flashed across her face though her eyes were taut with fear.

"We will win!" she hollered over the sounds of the horses. I rolled my eyes and sighed, raising my dagger. I brought it down quickly, hoping to finish them off, when a hand shot out and parried my blow. I sprang back, surprised.

Darren had shoved Jess in front of the reigns, his eyes locked onto mine. **_Son of a goddamn mother—_** I didn't even bother to correct Percy this time.

Our chariots suddenly hit a bump and warmth spread through my entire body, pink rimming the edges of my vision.

"What's going on?" I cried out to Percy, but he didn't reply. Instead, I felt a shaky hand grab my arm. A slow sensation of fuzziness, like I was floating, filled me from my toes to my head, and all of a sudden a feeling of pure longing spread through me.

We had hit a love potion trap.

"Fuck!" I hollered as my mind clouded over. "Fuc—gahh." My words dribbled off into nonsense as my eyes found green ones and something tightened in my stomach. I felt as if I were floating and the world was now running in slow motion.

I wanted to kiss him so badly that it hurt, and by the way Percy was looking at me, I had a strange feeling that maybe he was either disgusted or fascinated with all of the thoughts I was having now. His eyes glittered darkly, and it took me a moment to remember that he was under the spell as well. I took a shaky step forward, my mind screaming warnings at me, but I ignored them. My arms lifted from my sides, ready to grasp his face. So what if he didn't like me?

I was pulling my arm up to touch him when it was wrenched back down and I was tugged to the side of the chariot. My hip slammed into the wall and I groaned from the pain, my mind momentarily clearing. Heat flooded into my cheeks as I realized what I'd just done. I began to pull myself up, but someone seemed to be gripping my arm fiercely, tugging me across the gap of the two chariots.

I shrieked in alarm, and Percy shook his head quickly, like he was in a daze, and then his eyes widened. My head snapped back as I was yanked further into the gap, my blond ponytail blinding me. Through the strands I caught a face wearing a dark expression, with thunderous eyes and a set jaw: Darren.

I kicked, hard, as my body flailed. Unfortunately, that just led to me getting sucked into the crack even more, and my feet began to slip from my chariot. I was basically lying straight across the two chariots like a flustered, panicked board of wood.

I whipped my head around wildly as hands clamped down on my leg. Percy's face came into view, fierce and dangerously angry, as he tugged at my legs. In reply, Darren yanked my arm. Pain shot up my right side and I called out in agony. _FUCK. _**_I'm sorry, just hang on, Annabeth! This little fucking son of a goddamn—_**

"Let her go!" cried Darren as Jess stared at him like he was a lunatic.

"What are you doing?!" she hollered right in his ear. Her eyes darted from the dirt in front of their chariot to Darren. "Are you insane?!" Darren completely ignored her and his grip tightened on my arm. I bit the inside of my cheek, hard, and winced as a cruel game of tug-of-war commenced between Percy and Darren.

"What the fuck, Darren?!" Percy was hollering across the gap.

"She's rightfully mine, Jackson!" Darren spat right back across at Percy with so much force I froze in the middle of my efforts to yank my hands free. "She's going to be my queen, and she deserves someone better and more handsome and stronger—"

"Save it, Darren," Percy hissed, and I could barely hear his next words. With a final tug, Percy pulled me back into our chariot. My bad shoulder slammed into the wood and I cried out in agony, red tinting the edges of my vision. I heard a distant cry of outrage from Darren, and I shuddered.

**_Are you okay? _**I looked up wearily, bleakly at the darkening shape hovering over me that was Percy. _Fine, fine, _was all I could manage before I blacked out from the throbbing pain in my arm.

**_Annabeth. _**_What time is it? _**_Annabeth! _**_Why does my side hurt? Percy? _**_Yeah? Open your eyes._**

I did. As I opened them, the world came back slowly, like my eyes were the lens of a camera trying to focus. The sound of jolting chariots rang in my ears and the pounding of horse hooves on dirt echoed in my head. I was jerked to the side and pain swamped my brain again. I slowly stood, as if I were sleepy.

**_Thank the gods. _**I gripped the side of the chariot for support as I pulled myself fully upright. **_You blacked out for a few seconds. _**A dwindling fear in my mind trickled away as I realized it was Percy's. _Were you scared? _**_Pfft. No way. _**But his thoughts countered his words as he let slip a, **_Yes._**

"Where are we?" I asked out loud.

"Uh oh. You can't remember?" Percy called back from his position at the reigns. He sounded genuinely concerned. "Do you have a contusion or something?"

"You mean a concussion?" I snorted, and Percy's ears reddened. "Anyways, no, I don't, and I know where we are! I meant in the race-wise."

"Ohh," said Percy. "We beat out Darren, who had a freaking panic attack after the effects of the love potion wore off." At this comment, heat flooded into his face, though I wasn't sure why. Then horror crept into my stomach and I bit my lip, hard.

"Percy?" He nodded curtly to show he was listening. "Do you… Did you feel anything when we were under the spell? Like, my thoughts, or my feelings? Not yours," I finished quickly. Percy paused for a few seconds.

"No," he said, shaking his head finally. It's all really fuzzy up until when Darren grabbed you. Hallucinations, probably."

"Good," I said, and Percy shook his head. **_Don't be an idiot. That's not possible. You were probably all messed up and seeing things. _**_What? _**_Oops, sorry, I was talking to myself._** I shook my head at his strange behavior. "Alright. Anyways… Clarisse's chariot is the only one in front of us, then?"

"Yep," Percy said curtly, and the encouragements grew to a roar in my mind as the horses pushed themselves to run faster. "She's already pretty close by, but so far, she's gotten by most of the traps. Darren's chariot may have hit a few rough patches back there. I heard Jess screeching once you blacked out." He hesitated on the last part.

"Well, let's go get—" I began, but I was soon cut off by a huge _BOOM! _About halfway across the track on the opposite side, an enormous pink, glittery mushroom cloud rose above the dividers. The crowd roared, both with applause and laughter, as the angry shouts from none other than Clarisse split the air. Curses rang out from the cloud, followed by more shouts in which I could only hear a few words (Glitter, fuck, Drew) and lots of coughing.

"Nevermind," I said quickly. "I think Clarisse has her hands full." We rounded the bend and saw the scene:

Pink mounds of glitter covered about half of the track and sat in piles around a particularly enormous mound of the stuff. In it, Clarisse and Chris struggled to get out of the mess. Glitter rained down around them as Clarisse cursed her head off. Their chariot was nowhere to be seen; perhaps it was buried beneath the mound.

As we zoomed past and right across the finish line, Clarisse cussed so much that I actually considered washing her mouth out with soap. **_I wouldn't mind that._**

The crowd roared as we hopped down from our chariot. I held my arm to my side as it buzzed with pain, my vision blurring a little from the fading aches. I smiled weakly at the crowd as people hopped from their seats to congratulate us. Several slapped Percy on the back as I politely held one hand up to keep them from making me black out again.

"OMG! Annabeth!" I turned to see Lacey, who was peering at my arm with concern. "I saw what happened! Is that even legal?"

"Apparently it's allowed, or else Darren would have been eliminated."

"I'm so sorry. He's so much less attractive in my mind now," Lacey laughed, and then blushed, realizing what she'd just said.

"Thanks," I muttered with a smile as I turned. Girls were fanning themselves over Percy, but I just rolled my eyes and laughed at his helpless expression instead of getting angry— Gods know where that would have gotten me this time.

As some boys tried to talk to me and I edged out to speak to Percy, I noticed Darren's chariot, looking slightly charred, wobble across the finish line. He was greeted with an entire crowd of screaming girls, though his gaze found mine and stayed put. I ripped mine away, hatred gnawing at my insides. He was such an asshole. I was not anybody's girl. I was not a queen. I was not an object.

I found Percy, who gratefully found his excuse to escape his pack of girls. I took his hand with hesitation, lacing my fingers through his. To my relief, he didn't rip his hand away. We were just friends. Friends could hold hands, right? **_Duh. _**My face reddened.

"One more race," I breathed. My eyes found his green ones as Chiron made his way over, ambrosia in one hand and a Gatorade bottle filled with nectar in the other.

"One more," Percy agreed as his hand squeezed my own reassuringly.

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**Almost done! Probably one more chapter to go!**

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